Whatever Else There Was
by Revolutionary Venom
Summary: Missions aren't always what they're cracked up to be
1. Why There?

'Allo 'allo.

Well, after writing so many one-shots in the universe that is Xanrivash's, a plot bunny came into my head and wouldn't leave me alone; namely after the 'Electrical Impulses' two-shot I wrote in the universe of short stories. So here comes a multi-chaptered fic that takes place in the almighty Xani's KH universe.

Disclaimer: I don't own KH, Fori (Fifteen) or Xanrivash (Fourteen). If I owned KH, I'd be insanely, INSANELY rich. If I owned Fori or Xanrivash, then I'd probably be dubbed 'officially OC creative'

* * *

"I'm going WHERE with WHO?"

Xigbar grinned. "You, Luxord, and Larxene are headed off to Atlantica. Or did you not read the mission intel?"

Axel was _beyond _pissed at this point. "Do you not remember the last time I was stuck under the water for a long time?" he asked the gunslinger. "I nearly _died_!"

"I think you're over exaggerating there dude," Xigbar said. "You were stuck in a cage, mostly underwater, for almost twenty-four hours, while chained up. This however, is only a few hours, plus you'll be able to move around. You'll be fine."

"What about my powers?"

Xigbar finally just gave him 'the look'. "Look dude, I don't make up the missions, I just hand 'em out. Got a problem? Take it up with Xemnas."

Axel scowled. This was _not _going to be fun if he was going to be stuck underwater. He wouldn't be able to use his powers or summon his chakrams. So why was the Superior ordering him to go on a mission like _this_? Why not Demyx, he _loved _Atlantica AND his element was frickin' water!

But instead of going to Mansex and arguing it out, he simply said, "Where are Lux and Larx?"

"Waiting for you in the Grey Area."

Axel headed out of the kitchen and towards the Grey Area in the castle.

This was _not _going to be fun.

__

...

It's official. I HATE Atlantica.

Axel let his tail - yes, tail - swish back and forth a little as Luxord and Larxene were swimming circles around him. Not literally of course, but still, they didn't mind the water.

Then again, one was a Nobody that could kill instantly if she wanted to because of the mix of her element and the water, while the other didn't have any reason to be hindered. Axel, on the other hand, was pretty much useless, so he had no idea why he was here.

The mission required of them today was to retrieve something from a place called 'Ariel's Grotto', which they didn't know if that was a set up place, or someone's private retreat. Since Axel couldn't use his power over fire, he would be the one retrieving said object while the other two would either distract or…well, whatever was required to get the trinket that both Xemnas and Vexen wanted. Apparently, it was supposed to help track down Heartless, or some crap like that, Axel couldn't remember anymore.

It was interesting to note the trio's changes when they got to Atlantica; Luxord now had a dolphin-like tail that replaced his bottom half, Larxene had a light red mermaid tail and almost-blood red shells that went over her…huge tracts of land…

Anyway, Axel felt cheated. He had the shark tail that he had heard about from Xigbar the one time he had come to Atlantica to check up on something. It wasn't as great as the gunslinger had made it out to be either.

Of course, being underwater for the pyro was weird enough. Having a shark tail in place of legs was just icing on the cake. At least he still had his tattoos…well, the ones he could see anyway. And it seemed that his insulin pump was either hidden or had vanished entirely since it wasn't in its usual spot. The hole (or rather, a closed up version of one) was where the thing usually entered his body, but he guessed that since the trio came here and changed to fish, that the pump probably would've just broken anyway and was convinced it would reappear when they headed back to the castle.

"So where do we go first?" Larxene asked, picking at her fingernails, looking bored as ever. "I mean, how are we supposed to find this place anyway?"

"Good question," Luxord commented. "Didn't Xigbar say something about Ariel being the King's daughter?"

_Well that's just great, _Axel thought as he started to shiver._ How do we find her and ask her about the thing we're looking for?_

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a mermaid entering the area the trio was in, a yellow and blue fish trying to follow behind her.

"Think that's her?" Axel asked Luxord, trying to keep his shivering down to a minimum. The Gambler of Fate shrugged. "Only one way to find out," he said, leading the way, Larxene and Axel following after him. " 'scuse me!"

The mermaid stopped in mid-swim and turned around, facing the trio that was catching up. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Actually, you might be able to," Luxord said, when he, Larxene, and Axel approached. Taking one hand of hers into his, he kissed her hand like a gentleman and asked, "Are you the lovely Ariel of Atlantica?"

Axel rolled his eyes and Larxene looked like she was about to gag herself. The young mermaid, however, blushed a little at Luxord's little gesture. "I am," she said. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"There might be," Luxord said, keeping his poker face up. "You see, we hear you're a…collector of sorts, and myself and my friends are looking for a certain item-"

"You want to see if I have it?" she asked, politely slipping her hand out of the gambler's.

"Only if you're willing to let us see your vast collection," Luxord said.

Ariel smiled. "Glad to hear I'm not the only one who's interested in the human world," she said.

_But for entirely different reasons,_ Axel thought, his shivering beginning to increase.

The red headed mermaid looked at Axel, an expression of concern coming to her face. "Are you alright?" she asked. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone shaking like you are."

"We're not from these waters," Luxord quickly said. "He's just not used to the temperature. It's much warmer where we come from."

"Ooooh, so you're all visitors!" she excitedly said.

_Not the brightest crayon in the box, now is she? _Axel thought. _We didn't know she was Triton's daughter. Wasn't THAT some sort of indication that we're not locals?_

"Alright, follow me," Ariel said. "My secret place probably has whatever it is you're looking for. I've got whozits and whatzits galore!" She turned back in the direction she had previously been heading in. The blue and yellow fish looked at her oddly, but then followed after her, as did the Nymph, Gambler, and Flurry.

"Think she's got it or it's a goose chase?" Larxene asked no one in particular.

Axel just shrugged. "Who knows? I'm betting it either exists and it's a hunk of junk, or it doesn't and we just wasted a bunch of time."

_**...**_

Well, Axel hadn't been _completely_ wrong when they had reached the grotto belonging to Ariel. She did in fact have the item that they were searching for (which turned out to be an amulet that looked like it had spent _quite _some time underneath the waves of the ocean), but the question was whether this thing was going to work.

_Not our problem if it works or not, _Axel thought, as Larxene and Luxord waved good-bye to Ariel. _Xemnas and Vexen wanted the damn thing, they can have it._

Axel wasn't feeling his best as the three swam off in a direction that would be hidden from the eyes of Atlantica, so that the three could take a portal back to the castle. As the mission had gone on, he kept shivering, had started to lose the feeling in his fingers, and had found it hard to pay attention to what was going on around him.

Suddenly, he bumped into something. Looking up, he realized that Luxord had stopped swimming. The trio was in the middle of a 'clearing' of sorts, and were far enough from both the grotto and Atlantica to where they could make their escape through a corridor of darkness.

"You alright there mate?" Luxord asked, taking note of Axel's appearance. "You've been acting strange ever since we got here…and you don't look so good either."

"I'm f-f-fine," Axel protested through his chattering teeth. "I j-just wanna g-g-go home and s-sleep."

"Leave 'em alone Lux," Larxene said, waving her hand. "I just wanna get outta here and get ready!"

The Gambler looked at her funny. "Where the bloody Hell would you be going?"

"Mar-Mar and I are going to a fashion show tonight and I gotta look great!"

Axel couldn't help but snort at that. Marluxia at a fashion show? Geez, it was like the guy wasn't gay enough, what with the pink hair, the power over flowers (roses seemed to be his favorite), and the Elven background that he claimed to have.

Luxord just rolled his eyes and turned around, opening a portal. "C'mon you two, through the portal."

"Wait a s-s-sec, won't we j-just end up with w-w-water in our lungs or somethin'?" Axel asked. Since he had never been to Atlantica before, he didn't know how the transition went from underwater to land.

"Doubtful," Luxord said. "S'never happened to anyone who's been here before."

With that, the Gambler went through the portal, Larxene following. Axel hesitantly went through. _I've got a bad feeling about this…_

…

Meanwhile, in the Hall of Empty Melodies, Demyx sat on the floor, cross-legged, staff paper full of music on the floor in front of him, his sitar in his left hand while he was munching on an apple Roxas had brought him with his right.

He was downright proud of himself with this new composition he had managed to come up with. Not only did it sound great when he had finished it about half an hour ago, he had set a new record for how little time he had put into the music. Usually it took days to write something, but for some reason, Demyx had managed to write all the notes out from after he had eaten breakfast to about twenty minutes before the normal dinner hour. But that didn't matter anymore since he had gone vegetarian, because he now made his own meals after everyone else had left the kitchen.

Suddenly, Demyx heard three thumping noises. Looking up, he saw that Luxord, Larxene, and Axel were back from their mission, but for some reason, were on the ground once they came out of the portal they had used. "Uh…where did you guys go today?" Demyx asked. He knew that the trio had headed someplace where the three were going to transform, but he didn't know where. It couldn't have been the Pride Lands, otherwise he would've heard from Axel about the malaria drug that one had to take at least two-three weeks prior to a mission. So where…?

"To stupid Atlantica," Larxene growled, standing up, Luxord rising as well. "We got this crusty old amulet-" She held up a red star-shaped necklace "-that's supposed to find Heartless. Whether it does or not, I don't care." She tossed the little amulet over to Luxord, who almost dropped it before putting it in his pocket.

"Where's Axel?" Demyx asked, looking up at the blonde gambler. "Wasn't he supposed to be with you-?"

That's when he noticed it. He could hear water somewhere nearby…and it sounded close to the floor…

Demyx looked from Luxord to the floor behind the two blondes, his eyes widening and the apple in his hand falling to the floor when he realized _where _the noises of water were coming from. "Axel!"

The Gambler of Fate and Savage Nymph looked at each other, confused as Demyx quickly vanished his sitar as he got up and ran around them. Turning, Luxord managed to get out, "What's the ma-BLEEDING CHRIST!"

Axel was lying on the floor behind the two, looking like a drowned rat with his bright red hair nearly flat, his face and lips a bluish-gray tinge, and it looked like he was having trouble breathing. Demyx could remember one other time Axel had looked like this; it had been one of their first missions together after Roxas had joined, when they had gone to New Orleans, only to get stuck in the mess called Katrina.

"I'll get Vexen," Luxord quickly said, creating another portal as Demyx rolled Axel over onto his back. The Gambler left, the portal closing behind him, the Nymph trying to look disinterested in what the Melodious Nocturne was doing.

Demyx put a hand over Axel's face and began to concentrate. This wasn't something new to him; Axel was full of water once again, so he was going to remove it.

Thin ribbons of water began to emerge from Axel's partially open mouth and nose. He inspected the water and could see something that not even Vexen could see without the aid of a microscope. It was salt, like what one would taste when they got sea-water in their mouths on accident.

_Must've been in the ocean too long,_ Demyx thought as he finished emptying Axel's lungs of the salty water. _At least there's nothing as disgusting as there was in New Orleans, with the dead bodies, sewage, and…well, whatever else there was in that water._

But now what? Despite the fact that his lungs were clear, there was still a lot of salty water in Axel's stomach and Demyx didn't really want to punch his friend in the gut, like he had to before. So instead, he brought his right hand over where Axel's stomach was, the left helping Demyx level Axel by sitting him up a little, then began to concentrate.

The Nocturne had been to another world once where a young girl had saved her friend from drowning by doing this technique and he was silently thanking any and all gods that watched over Nobodies that he had learned this one from her.

Sensing the water, he began to move his hand from Axel's stomach, up his throat, and to his mouth. An orb of water about the size of basketball emerged from the red head's lips, which he made disappear as soon as he heard the Flurry's deep coughs. Demyx helped his friend sit up a little more to see if the coughing would stop when he heard footsteps coming from somewhere.

"What in blazes-?"

The Nocturne looked up to see Vexen, Luxord, and oddly enough Lexaeus, emerging looking down at him, Luxord looking like he was about to get his head bitten off, Lexaeus with a somewhat shocked look on his face, and Vexen looking like…well, Vexen.

Axel stopped coughing, his breathing coming out in a wheezing sound as he curled up against Demyx. The red head was _freezing _when normally he had a higher temperature than normal people. And it probably didn't help any that Vexen had knelt next to the two in order to inspect Axel since Vexen's element was ice, thus making him Axel's opposite, second to Demyx.

"I took care of the water in his lungs and stomach," Demyx said, trying to sound brave, despite being scared stiff for Axel and afraid of Vexen since he wasn't usually the one reporting injuries or illnesses; it was usually the other way around.

As Vexen examined the unconscious Nobody, Axel tried to get away from the probing hands. "Calm down Ax, it's okay now," Demyx reassured his friend.

If the red head could hear him, he was ignoring what the dirty blonde was saying, as he started trying to bury his face into Demyx's shoulder, looking for warmth.

Vexen stood from his spot across from Demyx. "Five, take Eight and come with me. Ten, Twelve, you two find Six and Fifteen." He moved so Lexaeus could kneel on the ground and pick up Axel. The Silent Hero gave Demyx a reassuring look before standing. He turned around to follow Vexen through the corridor that was now present when they all heard some sound emit from Axel.

"D-D-Demyx…"

Quickly, Demyx ran in front of Lexaeus to see that Axel's eyes were half-open, searching for Nine. "It's okay, I'm here," the Nocturne said, placing a hand on his friend's forehead. "I'm gonna get Roxas, alright?"

"No you're not Nine."

Demyx looked at Vexen. "Why not?" he asked. "Roxas will wanna know about what happened!"

"I need you to help Nine," Vexen stated. "Your power over water will be an asset to Eight's treatment."

Demyx looked from Vexen to Axel, who was still looking at him. A metaphysical dagger hit him where his heart should've been and he felt terrible. He didn't _want _to leave Axel, but Roxas would want to know about what had happened-

"I'll inform Thirteen."

Demyx looked up at Lexaeus. "After I leave, I'll inform Thirteen of what's happened," the Silent Hero said, adjusting Axel in his arms.

The Melodious Nocturne smiled a little. "Thank you."

Vexen rolled his eyes. "Do you or do you not want Eight to have treatment?" he asked. "The Superior will not be happy if he hears that one of our own has faded due to delayed conduct."

With that said, Demyx and Lexaeus followed Vexen through the portal…

* * *

Once again, my paragraph seperator wasn't working, so I used something else

Anyway, leave a comment! Reviews are the source of my power =3


	2. Where It's Wetter Ain't Always Better

Yay! Second chapter is up!

But then again, I wouldn't have been able to get it up without the amazing Xanrivash's help; she helped me with the beginning and medical terms =3 So without further ado, here it is!

* * *

Demyx watched as Vexen was putting a mask over Axel's face. What reason had he given again? Oh yeah, Vexen had called it a 'rewarming inhaler'. He had explained that sometimes, hypothermic patients benefited from oxygen that was warm, and since Axel hadn't been breathing that well-

"Nine!"

He snapped to attention. "What?"

"You're supposed to be stripping him," Vexen said, finishing the adjustments of the humidifying air. "Six is already retrieving fluids and Fifteen is analyzing his blood for glucose levels, ketones, and pH levels. Take off his robe and we'll start from there."

Demyx leaned over the treatment bed that Axel was on and went for the zipper of his robe, quickly bringing the fastener down and parting his coat. Vexen came to the other side and the two carefully but quickly removed the Organization uniform robe. "What about his shirt?" the Nocturne asked.

"Cut it off," the Chilly Academic simply answered, bringing out a pair of trauma shears. "Start from either the top or bottom and go down the center."

Demyx took the scissors-like object and did as Vexen instructed, cutting from the top of Axel's shirt to the bottom. _Good thing he's wearing a wife beater right now, or this might've been harder, _Demyx thought as he carefully removed the fabric.

Then he noticed something. He _thought _he had seen those green eyes open, so he looked again to see that Axel's eyes were half-open, looking around in a daze. Vexen continued to work as Demyx came into Axel's line of vision. "Hey Ax? Can you hear me in there?" the Nocturne asked softly. The red head gave a small nod, his usual bright, jade eyes looking at him with a dull stare.

"Keep him awake, or this could get harder."

Demyx looked up to see Zexion now across from him, concentrating on finding a spot on Axel's now ungloved hand to start an IV for the fluids that would help with re-warming. "How do I keep him awake?" Demyx asked.

"Just talk to him," Zexion answered, continuing in his search for a good vein. "He doesn't necessarily have to answer verbally, but talking to him will most likely keep him aware."

Demyx looked back down at Axel, who looked like he was about to fade out into unconsciousness. "Hey Ax, you can't sleep now," the Nocturne said, shaking him a little. The red head opened his eyes again. "C'mon Axel, stay awake."

Axel just shook his head once. (Can't. Too tired,) he mouthed. (Can't I sleep, just for a second?)

Demyx rested a hand on the other's forehead, thanking whatever god or gods that watched over Nobodies that he could read lips. "Sorry, not now," he said sadly. "I know you're tired, but you can't sleep now…besides, Roxas is waiting."

(…why?)

"Because Lexaeus got him, and I bet he's here by now," Demyx explained, petting Axel's hair with one hand, the other taking a hold of the limp, cold hand that belonged to the fire user. "Can't let a little brother down, can ya?"

(…guess not,) Axel answered after a minute, squeezing Demyx's hand a little.

It was then Demyx noticed something. When he had gotten the water out of Axel's lungs earlier, the red head had been shaking like a leaf. Now, he was acting as if he had never been cold at all, yet his skin was still an ashen color and he wasn't anywhere near his normal body temperature. "Hey guys? What does it mean when someone's not shivering anymore?" Demyx asked.

Vexen and Zexion continued working, ignoring everything else when Fori came back into the room. It seemed that neither Four or Six had heard him the first time, so Demyx spoke again. "If Ax isn't shivering anymore, isn't that a good thing?"

Fori was the one who actually answered his question. "Nowhere near it. If he's stopped shaking, that means his temperature's below even the normal range that most people have."

The panic showed on Demyx's face when Vexen decided it was time for the Nocturne to do his share. "Nine, it seems your skills will need to be used now," the Chilly Academic said. "You and Fifteen are to start extracorporeal rewarming. Fifteen knows the procedure, so all you'll need to do is follow what he says."

Axel looked up at Demyx, confused about what was going on. The water elementalist looked back down at his friend, trying to keep the panicked expression away. "I gotta help Fori now, so I'll still be here, but not _right here_," Demyx tried to explain, clasping Axel's hand gently. "But I'll be still be here."

Axel just gave a short nod, his eyes half-open.

* * *

Lexaeus sat and watched as Roxas paced, worrying himself sick.

After the Silent Hero had left the hospital wing, he went in search of the Key of Destiny. Eventually, he had found the teenager in the kitchen, eating a sandwich for his dinner. When he had informed the younger member of what had occurred, Roxas had immediately jumped from his seat and had taken a portal to the doors just outside the doors that led to the medical center of the castle, Lexaeus following to make sure that Roxas didn't do anything rash that might hinder Vexen from treating their downed member.

It only seemed like things had gone into a panicked state since Lexaeus had been summoned by Vexen; Luxord and Larxene had been and were still giving their reports and being questioned about the mission by Xemnas, Xigbar, and Saïx. Vexen, Zexion, Fori, and Demyx were helping Axel, and Roxas and himself were outside the doors of the room in which Axel was being attended. As for the remaining three, Xaldin, Xanrivash, and Marluxia, Lexaeus was only sure of one. He had known for a fact that Eleven had been sent on a mission to Wonderland and would not be back until later. The last time he had seen Three or Fourteen was at dinner, as he had just finished his meal when he had been summoned. Roxas hadn't been there when he had first left the kitchen, otherwise he would've gone there first.

So now here he sat in one of the few chairs, watching as the teenager was pacing in circles. Despite the fact that Lexaeus did not get annoyed easily, Roxas' actions were beginning to test his patience.

Suddenly, a corridor appeared and Xanrivash emerged from it. Roxas stopped his pacing when he saw her. "Xanrivash? What are you doing here?" he asked.

She shrugged, taking a seat next to Lexaeus. "I came to see Assel," she simply said. "Are Vessen, Zession, Demys, and Fori done yet?"

"Not yet," Roxas said sadly. "It's been awhile though. Shouldn't they be finished soon?"

Lexaeus suppressed a sigh. He knew how long it could take for Vexen to work on one of the other Nobodies, but on someone who's element was as complicated as the Nobody himself…

Well, the fire and water elements didn't mix for a reason. So the Silent Hero still had to wonder why the Superior had ever thought that it had been a good idea to send a fire elementalist to a place like Atlantica.

Suddenly, the two males heard a small laugh emit from their part-naga Organization member. "Sorry," she apologized. "Is just that Demys is usually the one being brought by Assel. Now is the other way around."

Roxas stared at her for a minute, then gave a little smile. "I guess that's true enough," he said. The smile faded. "I just hope Demyx can help Ax-"

"Hope I can do what now?"

The three Nobodies looked up to see Demyx, standing in front of the doors that led into the room that Axel was in. "Demyx!" Roxas exclaimed, running over to the older Nobody and hugging him. The Melodious Nocturne wrapped his arms around the one he considered his younger brother as Lexaeus and Xanrivash joined them. "How is he?" asked Fourteen.

Demyx sighed. "To be honest, I'm not all that sure," he said. Roxas looked up at him. "I-I managed to keep him awake and Vexen made me and Fori do some kind of rewarming, but it hasn't fully worked yet. Vexen said he didn't need my use of water anymore, so he let me go."

Roxas just sighed, not letting go of his older brother. Axel was the first one in the Organization he had ever met, and had been dubbed by both Demyx and himself as an older brother.

An elder sibling couldn't abandon their younger ones, could they?

"So his condition hasn't worsened, but hasn't improved?"

Demyx, Roxas, and Xanrivash looked at Lexaeus. "Something like that," Demyx answered. Roxas let go of Demyx, looking a little scared. "So…he still might not make it?"

"Of course he will," Demyx reassured him, ruffling his hair - a comforting gesture Axel usually did to either of them whenever they were depressed or not feeling well. "This isn't the first time Axel's been in trouble with water, though it might not be the last. Either way, Ax is gonna be fine. We just have to wait." The Nocturne looked up at Lexaeus. "I'm gonna guess that you have to report to the Superior about what's happening?"

The Silent Hero shook his head. "Xigbar actually."

"Well, have fun with that," Demyx said. "Just hope Xigbar gets it through his head to not hand Axel an underwater mission again, even if the Superior orders it."

Lexaeus just sighed, created a portal, and left the remaining three to wait for the verdict.

* * *

"Hey."

No response.

"Wake up!"

Roxas and Demyx jerked awake. Xanrivash was standing over them, a strange look on her face. "Fori is here," she said. "Assel is done."

The two immediately stood up from their seats, Xanrivash moving with just the right amount of speed so that no one would collide. Fori stood in front of the three, with a rather bored look on his face. "Are you two done with your beauty rest yet, or do I have to leave?" he asked.

"We're up, we're up," Roxas said grumpily. "How's Axel?"

Fori crossed his arms over his chest, his annoyed expression not changing. "He conked out almost as soon as you left," he started, looking at Demyx. "So that didn't make our job any easier-"

"Why didn't you just come back and get me then?" the Nocturne asked.

"Because it would've left us short a hand," Fori answered. "Or that's what the old fart says anyway. I gotta watch over Axel's blood sugar and whatever 'til he can be released. He hasn't woken up yet, but Vexen says he should be fine. Oh, and it might take a little while for his powers to come back."

"Why are they gone?" asked Xanrivash. She knew that drugs that Vexen used had the ability to take a Nobody's powers away, seeing as it had happened to Axel when he had gone into alcohol withdrawal.

Fori shrugged. "Something about being underwater too long," he said. "Zexion thinks that because he was in Atlantica for so long, he probably won't be able to use his powers for a day or two."

"…so Axel's okay then?" Roxas asked.

"Fine, other than the fact that he's still at a lower body temperature, but that's just gotta go up on its own at this point," Fori answered. "And to answer your question, because I know you're going to ask, we moved him to another room. Third door, down the hall and to the left."

Demyx and Roxas took off in the direction Fori had indicated, leaving Xanrivash and Fori alone. "So what about you?" Fifteen asked. "What are you gonna do now?"

Fourteen shrugged. "Tell Lesaeus that Assel is awake," she simply said. "And is curious that Larsene and Lusord have not finished with the Superior. I think I'll find them as well."

"Whatever pleases Cthulhu."

"Pardon?"

"…nothing."

* * *

Freezing cold.

That was the first sensation Axel felt when he started to come back into consciousness. Despite the fact that he could feel an object covering him that warmed him a little, he still felt really cold. And something…weird-feeling was on his face. It was warm at least.

But he still felt really cold.

An involuntary shiver…and he couldn't make it stop once it started.

"Hey Demyx, he's shivering!"

A shuffling of feet. "Axel? Axel, you awake?"

The Flurry of Dancing Flames opened his eyes a little to see two black and blonde…fuzzies. "Mwuh?" was all he could muster up as a response, but it was unheard due to the whatever it was on his face. Axel felt a warm hand on his forehead as his vision started to clear a little, revealing Demyx and Roxas.

"Hey Ax," Roxas greeted. "Feeling any better?" The red head just stared at him for a minute before trying to answer. Only problem was he had finally realized what was on his face; an oxygen mask that had warm air for him to breathe. He tried to reach up to remove it, but found that his hand was shaking too badly for him to do anything in mid-reach.

"Don't take it off," Demyx said, taking a hold of Axel's shaking hand with both of his own. The other hand that Axel could feel on his forehead must've been Roxas' then. "Vexen said that with normal patients they would have it off by now, but you probably shouldn't until your temperature's a bit higher."

"But Vexen said he needed something to bring up his sugar when he woke up," Roxas pointed out. "I think he can take it off long enough to eat a piece of candy or drink something." Axel wasn't paying much attention at this point. He felt Demyx pull away as he went to another corner of the room to do…something.

And he was still freezing.

Suddenly, he felt something else being put on him. "Does the blanket help?" Roxas asked. Axel nodded a little. "Do you think you can sign any?"

Eight brought his hands up. **I can try**, he signed, hands still shaky. **But I'm really cold, so I don't know how well or long I'll be able to.**

Roxas smiled a little. "That's okay." He hugged Axel, being careful of the equipment. "I'm just glad you're here."

Axel managed a smile, putting one arm around Roxas to hug him back. _I'm glad I can be here with my brothers._

"So are you going to hug Axel all day, or is he going to be able to drink this?"

Roxas pulled away from the embrace, carefully taking off the mask off as he moved. Axel coughed a couple of times almost as soon as the thing was off his face, not used to the unwarmed air. He felt himself being lifted into a sitting position by Demyx. "Here, drink this," the Nocturne instructed, holding a mug up to Axel's lips with his free hand. "It'll help. But drink it slow, okay?"

Axel just nodded and sipped at what was being offered when he heard footsteps shuffling around. He turned his head and noticed Roxas was gone.

"He went to get Vexen," Demyx answered, getting Axel to take the last drink of the hot chocolate. "He wanted to know when you woke up so he could examine you. Roxas might've gone to get Luxord and Larxene as well."

Axel looked up at him. "W-why?"

Demyx put the mug on the table next to the bed and let Axel lay back down. "I do know that Luxord was genuinely concerned about what happened," he answered. "You should've heard him when he first saw you. Other than you, I think he's the only one I've heard say something with 'Christ' in it, and not in the good way."

Axel thought this over for a moment. "I-I think I r-r-rememb-ber him yelling."

"He did. I had never heard 'bleeding Christ' until he practically screamed it at the top of his lungs."

Axel tried to laugh, but ended up coughing instead. Demyx quickly came to the other side of the bed and replaced the oxygen mask that had previously been on his friend's face. "Sorry Ax, but Vexen's orders," Nine apologized. "It'll help warm you up to…well, whatever your normal temperature is." Axel just curled up under the blankets, trying to keep himself warm.

Suddenly, two portals opened up in the room. Out of one came Vexen, while Luxord, Larxene, and Roxas came out of the other. The Chilly Academic went over to the side of the bed that Demyx was on, the Melodious Nocturne moving so that the older member could examine Axel while The Gambler of Fate and Savage Nymph went to the other side.

"How ya feelin' mate?" Luxord asked.

Axel was about to start signing, but then he remembered that no one beyond Demyx, Roxas, or Zexion would've known what he was signing. But then he decided to do it anyway, trusting that his water friend would interpret.

"He says he feels cold," Demyx said, watching Axel's shaky hands as they signed away, Vexen examining the fire user. "He also wants to know what the heck happened."

Luxord sighed. "In all honesty, I have no idea," he said. "You asked if we'd all just end up with that bloody water in our lungs and you were the only one that did. Only theory I got was that Larxene's immune, what with electricity and water not mixing and I got lucky."

"Would you all be quiet?" Vexen asked, as he had been trying to listen to Axel's breathing with a stethoscope. "I need to hear."

So the group was quiet for a few moments, the only sound coming from Axel as he tried to breathe. Then, after a minute or two, Vexen took his stethoscope away. "I can hear…something, on the right side, but I'm not as of yet sure what it is," the Academic said. He then looked at Axel. "Since you're going to be staying here for observation-" The red head groaned at that statement "-I'll run a few tests and see what comes up."

So it began. Vexen took a sample of blood then left the room, while Luxord and Larxene (mostly the Gambler though) were talking to Axel about what had happened during their mission reports.

It seemed that the Superior had gotten _pissed _when he had heard that The Flurry of Dancing Flames had been sent to an underwater world. When asked about why _he _had sent Axel there by Larxene, Saïx had jumped into the conversation, claiming that Xemnas had had nothing to do with it and it was his doing. When asked why, he had said that he was conducting an experiment to see how unlike elements would react in different worlds. When Xigbar had been questioned about the mission handout, he had given the same reason he had given Axel earlier in the day; that he didn't make up the missions, he just passed them out to the other members.

So that left Saïx in trouble with the Superior while it seemed Xigbar was free to go.

The good thing was that Axel was now banned from ever going back to Atlantica. Bad thing was that it still didn't change the fact that he was lying there on a bed in the medical wing, suffering from hypothermic problems.

When Luxord and Larxene finally finished their story about how the questioning of the mission as well as their reports, Axel signed, **You guys didn't get into any trouble, did you?**

"No, thank Kingdom Hearts," Luxord answered after Demyx interpreted. "For a minute I thought we would, but it seems Xemnas is leaning more towards punishing either Xigbar or Saïx, though I'm betting on the blunette since he's the one who changed the roster without anyone knowing."

Axel relaxed when he heard that. As the story had gone on, he had been a little afraid for the Gambler of Fate, since he had been the leader for the mission. Larxene could handle herself in a competition with Xemnas, mainly because she was one of the few who could kill him on the spot if she wanted (that and being one of the only two females in the castle was probably one of the reasons).

"We should probably go," Luxord finally said. "Larx and I both missed dinner, so I think we'll go see if we can scrounge something up. Feel better, alright mate?"

Axel just smiled.

"I think I'm going to join them," Demyx said. "I haven't eaten all day, so I'm gonna make something. Would you want anything Ax?"

The red head shook his head. **Not really hungry**, he managed to sign.

Luxord turned around and opened a portal. He went through, Larxene behind him. But before she left, she looked at Axel. "I'll admit you scared me when Luxord screamed and I was worried about you, but don't think that changes anything, got that?" She then glared at Roxas and Demyx. "That _doesn't _leave this room."

They nodded. And with that, the Savage Nymph went through the portal. Axel just smiled a little, the other two letting out a sigh of relief, the red head thinking how funny it was that Larxene would ever be worried over him.

"I'll be back after I eat," Demyx said. He gave a wave, then went out the portal, the corridor closing up behind him.

Axel relaxed against the bed, feeling exhausted. He was about to fall asleep when he felt something else being put over him. Looking at Roxas, the red head gave him a confused look. "Just thought you might appreciate another blanket," the blonde answered, smiling.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames grinned, feeling his eyes beginning to slide shut.

"Sleep tight Ax."

With that, Axel fell into a deep sleep, despite still being cold, knowing that he'd be awake with his brothers next time.

* * *

Gotta feel bad for Ax, at least a little bit. He's been through Hell and high water (literally and figuratively), but I've never seen him in Atlantica. So in case you were wondering what would happen to him, this is it.

But more to come? OF COURSE! Don't you know anything about science? xD

Also; since my paragraph seperator wasn't working in the first chapter, I'm just going to let it slide for the rest of the story and use the stupid line.


	3. The Result of Water and Fire

Third chapter is here! Thought I could get it up before Christmas, since I doubt I'll have another chapter up by then. So enjoy!

New Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom of the Opera or the card game of Speed

* * *

Two days had passed since the incident with Axel and Atlantica. And Axel's temperature did go back to normal…for awhile. It seemed that something else had decided to rear its ugly head, just to make the red head even more miserable.

Vexen was once again listening to Axel's breathing with his stethoscope, Demyx and Roxas on the other side of the bed watching as the Chilly Academic examined Axel.

And the expressions on Vexen's face were not exactly good ones.

When the Flurry of Dancing Flames had begun to grumble about chest pain and had even told Demyx that he felt he couldn't breathe, Roxas had gotten Vexen because neither the Melodious Nocturne or Key of Destiny knew what those meant.

Finally, Vexen took his stethoscope away. "I was afraid of this," he said, placing the stethoscope around his neck. "It seems that Eight has a case of aspiration pneumonia after nearly drowning."

"What's that?" asked Roxas.

"It is the inflammation of the lungs and airways to the lungs from breathing in foreign material," Vexen explained. "Namely in this case, Eight swallowed or absorbed a considerable amount of water from being submerged. Whatever was in the ocean must have caused this."

Demyx could hear Axel's groan of annoyance as he thought about the water that had come from the pyro's lungs and stomach. "Well…I saw a lot of salt in the water I managed to pull out," Demyx said aloud, not really knowing if Vexen was listening or not. "And…I think there were some other particles in the water too, but I thought it was just tiny amounts of sand from the ocean floor. Could it have been something else?"

The Chilly Academic suppressed a sigh. "Possibly," he admitted. "But I will need to run a few tests-"

"You're taking more of my blood?" Axel asked, his voice a little raspy.

"Yes. Not much, just enough to let Fifteen look at it so I may confirm this diagnosis."

So the Chilly Academic got some supplies in order to take a sample. As Vexen began to tie off a tourniquet when he had found a vein, Axel asked, "When can I leave?"

"As soon as I give you an antibiotic to take with you," Vexen said, inserting the needle that would take his blood, along with a vial.

To distract himself while Vexen took his blood, Axel turned his head towards Demyx and Roxas. "This…sucks…" he managed to wheeze. Demyx gave him a small smile, placing a hand on his forehead and stroking his hair. "Does, doesn't it? At least you got me and Roxas around-"

And as if some force of the universe decided to be bitchy, a white envelope appeared in front of Roxas, his name on it. The teenager took it, opening it up as Axel and Demyx looked at him, awaiting the verdict. After a minute, Roxas groaned. "A week long mission! This sucks."

"Who's…it with?" asked Axel, Demyx's hand stopping. He and Demyx knew very well that on missions that lasted more than a day or two usually were partnered. But missions that could last a week or more? More or less depended on where the person was going.

That and the fact that Roxas was the Keyblade holder. Roxas almost never went on missions by himself.

"With Xaldin and Xanrivash," Roxas answered after reading the rest of the intel. "I don't leave until tomorrow morning, but still…a week?"

"Where do you have to go?" Demyx asked.

"Some place called Nolas," Roxas said. "Either of you know what that place is?"

Both of the older Nobodies shook their heads.

"Now for analysis."

Demyx, Axel, and Roxas looked at Vexen to see that he had finished taking the blood sample. "I should have a better idea within a few hours. In the meantime, rest. It will do you some good, I hope."

With that, Vexen went to the door and left.

Axel huffed. "What good will sleeping do…when it hurts like Hell…to breathe?" he croaked.

Demyx sighed. "It might help Ax," he said, petting Axel's hair again. "You haven't been sleeping well anyway-"

"That's 'cuz I can't _breathe_," Axel wheezed.

"Well you can try anyway," Demyx said. Then, an idea struck the Nocturne and he stopped stroking his friend's hair. "Would it help you get to sleep if I played for you?"

"…Maybe."

Roxas took a seat closeby while Demyx sat on the floor a little ways away from the bed, cross-legged. He summoned his sitar and smiled. "Any requests?" he asked.

"…nah. Just…whatever comes first," Axel managed to say.

The Melodious Nocturne considered for a minute about what song to strum on his sitar. Then, a smile came to his face when a thought struck about what he would play.

_**Think of me, think of me fondly,  
when we've said goodbye.  
Remember me, once in a while -  
please promise me you'll try…**_

Axel's eyelids began to slide shut as the song went on. By the time Demyx was finished, the Flurry of Dancing Flames had fallen into a deep slumber, breathing a little easier.

"What was that song Demyx?" Roxas asked quietly as the Nocturne vanished his sitar and stood up.

"It was 'Think of Me' from Phantom of the Opera," Demyx answered. "It's from that CD that Larxene gave me for my birthday. Remember when we were both sick and I played for you? That song was from that same show."

"Maybe we should get the movie then, if it's that great," Roxas said. "So…what now? Do we leave and get something to eat since we missed lunch or-"

They both turned to look at Axel when they heard something. The red head was wheezing a little as he was breathing. "Actually, it might be a good idea if one of us stays here," Demyx said, looking back at Roxas. "How about I make us something to eat and bring back a couple of plates?"

Roxas smiled. "Alright. What'cha gonna make?"

"…I'll take that as 'you'll eat anything'?"

"Pretty much."

* * *

"This…sucks…"

Demyx shuffled the deck of cards that he and Roxas were playing with. "I think you've said that a grand total of fifty times now," he said to his red headed friend.

A few hours after Vexen had taken a blood sample from Axel and he had confirmed a diagnosis; it was in fact aspiration pneumonia, caused by something that was in the water that he had absorbed somewhere in the transition phase between Atlantica and The Castle That Never Was, though Vexen, Fori, nor Zexion could figure out what it could've been. So the two scientists and demon released Axel with a bottle full of a medicine that neither Demyx nor Axel could remember the name of. Whatever it was, it was supposed to help rid the fire user of the illness he had contracted.

As of the moment, Axel was laying in bed, wrapped up in his black sheets and several other blankets, watching Roxas and Demyx play cards as they sat on the floor next to his bed. The room was hot due to Axel's temperature and powers mixing, but it wasn't to the point where it was uncomfortable to be in for awhile.

"Shouldn't you be…packing for your…mission Rox?" Axel managed to ask, continuing to watch his friends as Demyx dealt the cards for a game of Speed.

"I already did," Roxas answered, looking at the five cards he now had in his hands. Demyx put a hand on one of the facedown cards, Roxas doing the same. "I packed while we were waiting for Vexen to come up with a result and you were sleeping."

The two flipped the cards over and quickly went from there.

"Did you pack everything you'd need for a week long mission?" Demyx asked as he placed a few cards down on one of the two piles.

"I hope I got enough," the teen answered. "I don't think I could carry my backpack if I tried to stuff anything else in it."

Axel and Demyx laughed, but the red head soon started coughing.

The two on the floor looked up at their friend, thinking he'd stop in a few seconds. When it continued for a minute or two however, they both put their cards down, Demyx getting up and sitting on the bed next to Axel. The water user put a hand on his friend's back, gently rubbing his hand in circles to help ease the fit that had seemed to taken over for the moment.

"Hey Demyx? You had pneumonia as Edmy once, right?" Roxas asked, starting to get worried as Demyx sat next to the oldest male.

The Nocturne shook his head. "Actually no," he said. "If I remember right, the EMT's that took me to the hospital said it looked like whooping cough. Axel found me in an alley that night while I was coughing my lungs out and we didn't meet again until I joined the Organization." He looked down at Roxas, still rubbing his hand in circles as Axel's coughing fit finally ended. "Why?"

"Well…does whooping cough sound anything like that?" the younger one asked, meaning the nasty sound of Axel's coughing.

Demyx was about to answer if they hadn't heard, "His was…a lot worse…he puked his guts up too…"

The Nocturne sighed, looking at the digital clock on Axel's nightstand. "It's getting pretty late," he said. "Maybe you should go to bed Roxas, you've got a long week ahead of you."

Roxas stretched his arms over his head and yawned. "Guess I should," he said. He picked up the cards and put them all back together, putting the deck on the nightstand. Standing, he looked at his friends, a small smile on his face. "I'll see you guys when I get back next week."

"Don't do anything stupid," Axel wheezed, a smile coming to his face. "If Xaldin and Xanrivash fight over…what to do…go with the female. Never argue…with a woman Rox."

"I think I got that through my head, especially since she controls poison," Roxas said jokingly.

"Just be careful, okay?" Demyx said. "Wouldn't want another brother to be out of commission for awhile."

Roxas smiled. "I'll be careful." He bade them goodnight, opened a portal, and stepped through to return to his own room.

As soon as the teenager was gone, Axel sighed. "Hope he'll be ok."

Demyx looked back down at his sick friend. "He will be, don't worry," the Nocturne reassured. "I think he's more worried about you than we are of him." He sighed. "Maybe you should get some sleep too. You're sick and it won't do you any good to stay up any later. Do you need anything before I go back to my room?"

Axel just shook his head, curling up under the blankets. He closed his eyes as Demyx stood from his seat and walked to the door that led to the bathroom that connected his and Axel's rooms. Before he crossed the threshold however, Demyx looked back at his friend, wondering when the last time he had seen him this sick.

And he honestly couldn't remember.

"Sleep tight Axel."

* * *

The Melodious Nocturne was awakened when he felt something…

…licking his cheek?

Opening his eyes, Demyx could see Solace's bright green eyes staring at him. "What is it Sol? It's-" he quickly looked at his clock and groaned. "-two in the morning. What's-?"

The water user stopped, thinking something wasn't right. It _couldn't _be if Solace was waking him up. Sitting up, he grabbed his hearing aids from a spot on his nightstand and planted them in his ears. Once they were in, he realized that there was hacking and coughing coming from Axel's room.

Getting out of bed, Demyx yawned and went through the bathroom, Sol leading the way. Peering into Axel's room, Demyx couldn't help but feel sorry for his friend.

Axel was curled up under the blankets, so much so that the water elementalist couldn't even see him. The sound of his coughing could be heard from under the blankets, though Demyx hadn't heard it without his hearing aids nor heard it that well with them in.

"Axel, you don't have to hide under the covers when you have to cough," Demyx said, walking over to his friend's bedside then kneeling so he could try to pry the pyro from the blankets.

The coughing stopped for a moment. "Didn't…wanna…wake you up…"

Demyx rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't have heard it anyway. I take out my hearing aids at night, remember? Sol woke me up and when I heard you, I got worried."

Axel peeked his head out from under the covers, only his eyes and the top of his bright-red hair visible. Demyx would've laughed at this if he wasn't already feeling so bad for his friend because he looked like Sol when he was coming out of hiding from under a piece of furniture.

_How many times was I like this when I was Edmy?_ Demyx asked himself, remembering all the health problems he had as his Other. Coughing his lungs out during the winter, especially when he couldn't get medication for himself due to lack of money from sitar playing. Even his…other job…didn't always help cover medicinal expenses.

"It's okay Ax," Demyx said, placing a hand on the bed. "You're bound to get sick every once in awhile, and since you don't get sick that often, it's just hitting you harder now. It's not your fault, okay?"

Axel shifted a little under the covers, looking at Demyx. Even in the dark, Demyx could see that his friend's eyes were a little glassy and…steam?

_Guess he's sweating so much it's evaporating._

Then, an idea struck.

Demyx quickly sat back on the floor, finding a comfortable way to sit. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on summoning a special creature he had only used once before for Roxas when he had gotten sick.

So when he opened his eyes, a water cat sat on the floor, its tail going to and fro. Demyx smiled as the cat then turned, hopped onto the bed, and sat on Axel's head. Though the cat was made of water, it didn't steam as much as one thought it would; actually, it seemed to be keeping the sweat that had been evaporating in check.

"Feel better?" Demyx asked. Axel nodded, the cat moving a little as his head went up and down. "Thought it felt weird…when Roxas was sick and…one tried to sit with me," he said. "But right now…it feels good."

* * *

Well, here it is. Third chapter everyone!

Reviews please?


	4. Demyx's Mission, Axel's Visitors

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone is having fun getting over their hangovers XD

* * *

Demyx checked over his mission orders once again as he was packing.

Two days after Roxas had left for his mission, Demyx was assigned to go on a five day recon mission and Zexion would be joining him after the first two days. However, the Melodious Nocturne wasn't too crazy about where he was going to have to go for this mission.

He hadn't been back to his version of Earth since the incident with Katrina and the following Mardi Gras. Before that was when he and Axel had gone to D.C. on a mission to retrieve something, but he had ended up sick and the only other time had been when he had frozen to death as Edmy. Because of those facts, Demyx wasn't really keen on going back to Earth. The only thing that kept him from out-right refusing the job was that the recon was in a place called San Antonio, Texas. He didn't really know much about San Antonio, but Texas he did remember. It was apparently the second biggest state of the U.S., next to Alaska. The only other thing he could remember about it was that it was hot almost all year round and never saw snow.

_I wonder if it's got a bit of Louisiana in there somewhere since the two states are neighbors,_ he wondered, putting his bottle of Depakene into a pocket of his backpack, along with spare hearing aid batteries. _I know that it won't be anything like New Orleans, but I wonder if it's a neat place full of history like the Cajun-area is._

"Mreow?"

Demyx looked next to his backpack to see Connie sitting there with Sol right next to her. "Hey you two," he greeted. He scratched Sol between his ears. "What are you doing in here? Getting tired of being around Axel?"

It felt like he was shaking his head as Sol rubbed against Demyx's hand. The Nocturne smiled. "Then why are you in here?" he asked playfully.

Solace just stared at him as if to say _you know why I'm in here bugging you._ So Demyx picked up Solace, walking through the bathroom that connected his and Axel's room, stopped just inside the red head's door, and put Sol back down. Feeling the heat in the room, Demyx looked to his friend, who was tucked into his own bed, feeling slightly sympathetic. "How ya feeling Ax?"

Axel just stared at him from his little cocoon of black sheets and blankets. "Shitty," he answered. "Remind me to never go to Atlantica again, even if I'm being bribed with a million munny."

Demyx laughed a little. "But it doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" he asked. "You're banned from Atlantica because we know what happens when you do."

Sad thing was that Zexion wasn't originally going to San Antonio with Demyx, Axel was. But after Axel had contracted pneumonia, the Superior changed the mission roster so that Zexion would be joining Demyx on the third day. So while the red head was sad that he wasn't going on what had promised to be an interesting recon mission, he was at least a little happy at the fact that he was finding it a little easier to talk and breathe.

"Have fun on your mission," Axel said. "I'll just be here with the cats if you decide to come back early."

Demyx smiled. "Don't worry," he assured him. "I'll be fine." He came closer to the bed and ruffled the red head's hair, like Axel had done to him so many times before. "I'll even bring you back a souvenir if you're a good boy."

"Bite me," Axel replied, sniffling at the same time.

"Keep talking like that and you won't get anything, not even any Mexican food I might bring back," Demyx said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Just hope that Roxas gets back soon or you'll be stuck with Xigbar, if he decides to visit."

Axel groaned at that thought. "While I don't dislike the guy, there's only so much I can take of him," he said. He then looked up at him "See ya in five days?"

Demyx smiled. "Yeah. I bet you'll be better by the time I get back. If not, well, you can enjoy whatever I bring back."

Axel smiled, but ended up yawning. "Sorry for not being a better Nobody to say bye to," he apologized, his expression looking exhausted.

This made Demyx feel bad. For the last few nights, he'd be up late or wake up to Axel (he had decided to start sleeping with his hearing aids in again, a habit he had dropped awhile back), who sounded like he was coughing his lungs out. Occasionally, he would go into the Flurry of Dancing Flames' room and sit with him, rub his back, summon water cats, whatever he could to try and help Axel's fits stop or at least try to make him feel better. Axel had even asked if Demyx would play his sitar one night, thinking that maybe it would help him get to sleep.

And it did. Demyx had taken his request and after a few minutes of playing, Axel had fallen into a light sleep.

"Just worry about getting better, alright?" Demyx said. "I wouldn't want to come back to see you in the hospital wing with Vexen."

Axel just nodded tiredly. "I'll do my best," he said, eyes starting to close. Demyx smiled a little, coming over to the bed, and bringing the sheets and blankets up a little. "Feel better Ax."

The red head just curled up a little, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

Demyx turned around and went back through the bathroom to his bedroom. Picking up his backpack, he sighed. _Let's just get this over with._

So with that, Demyx opened a portal and stepped through…

* * *

Well, Demyx had to say, what he had seen so far seemed promising.

He had been walking around for a little while, and he had to admit, San Antonio was like a Mexican version of New Orleans. In the few spots he had been to, he'd seen bands playing mariachi music, lots of food vendors, and there was even something that really appealed to him; a river that had been designed so that people could walk alongside it or over it, if the person found a bridge. Heck, he'd even seen some boats being driven by what looked like a tour guide while a bunch of people were riding in said boat. What was the area called again? He had heard the name somewhere after arriving, but he couldn't remember what the locals had called it.

Oh yeah. The Riverwalk.

Right now though, he was in a quieter part of a park close to the hotel that he was supposed to be staying at, just spending a little time outside before he had to go check in.

_Well, at least it's not as bad as I thought it would be around here,_ Demyx thought, resting against a tree and looking around. _Though it's hotter than I would like, it's not all that bad. I bet Axel would like it here if he was feeling well._

He stood against the tree for a few minutes, just taking in the scenery before deciding that it was perhaps time to go check in at the hotel that Xigbar had reserved a room for. He kind of wanted to play his sitar-

Suddenly, he felt…strange. His body felt detached, like he was about to be sick.

_Oh gods, not here, not now!_

"Excuse me, mister? Are you alright?"

Demyx turned his head to the right to see a girl there. "Are you okay?" she asked again.

The world began to shimmer and he felt worse.

Then everything went black.

* * *

Axel opened his eyes, feeling woozy. The last thing he could remember was Demyx saying goodbye to him earlier, so he rolled over and looked at his alarm clock.

The red head groaned. He knew he had to get up and find some lunch (despite the fact that he had missed the normal lunch hour) or his sugar would plummet, but Axel was just too frickin' tired-

His own thoughts were interrupted when he started coughing.

"Geez, you sound worse than you did a few hours ago dude."

Axel managed to stop his coughing when he heard _that _voice. "What are you doing in here Xigbar?" he asked, not bothering to look around because he knew that the Freeshooter was either on the ceiling or elsewhere gravity-defying in the room.

Surprisingly though, Xigbar appeared in his line of vision by sitting on the bed. In his hand was a bowl of…something that he couldn't really smell, but he guessed that it was soup. "Look kid, I know you're sick and with Demyx and Roxas on missions, I didn't think anyone would be exactly visiting," the Freeshooter explained. "So I brought some lunch so someone would make sure you'd eat."

Axel looked at the bowl in Xigbar's hands and sat up. "Who made it and what kind of soup?" the red head asked suspiciously. The older member chuckled. "Larxene has cooking duties today since Xaldin's away," he said. "And it ain't poisoned. Those of us who don't have missions ate this and none of us are sick yet."

The Flurry of Dancing Flames looked at the bowl, then slowly took it from Xigbar. "Thanks," he managed to croak out, picking up the spoon and began to eat.

"So how're you feelin'?" Xigbar asked. "You look like you need to go see the Iceman again."

Axel nearly choked on the spoonful in his mouth. "I'll only do that…if it gets really bad," he said after swallowing. "And I mean _really_ bad."

Xigbar smiled a little. "Can't say I blame ya there," he said. His smile melted away however after a few moments. "Look, if I had known that this was gonna be the outcome, I wouldn't have sent ya out on that mission. I mean, the twenty hours in Port Royal were bad-" Axel involuntarily shuddered at that memory "-but this was just supposed to be a two-three hour mission at the most. If I had known Saïx had changed the roster, I would've changed it again."

Axel just swallowed another mouthful of soup, then shook his head. "Who knew it would turn out like that?" he asked. "Not you or me. Not like we're fuckin' psychic or anything. Like you said, it was only a couple of hours. While I didn't want to go, I didn't think I was gonna get hypothermia…or…pneumonia from it." His voice was starting to tire out and his chest started to hurt as he continued. "So don't blame…yourself, ya old coot. Go shoot some…holes in Saïx if you're…really feeling bad…about it…"

Xigbar smiled sadly. "Maybe on your behalf, after I get you settled." Taking the bowl away from the red head, the gunslinger stood up. "Get some more sleep, you really need it. I don't want to have to come back in here to find your ass at the brink of dying or somethin' because you wouldn't sleep."

Axel coughed a few times before answering. "Don't think…I'm that sick." He laid back down and curled up in the black sheets and extra blankets on the bed, shivering. The last thing he remembered hearing was "I'm surprised nothing's combusted yet…"

* * *

The first thing the Melodious Nocturne noticed was that his head was on something soft while the rest of him was laying on something hard. The next thing that registered was that it felt like someone was pressing something cold to his forehead. His tongue hurt, his head hurt, Hell, he was feeling bad just about all over.

_Not another one,_ he thought, opening his eyes. The first thing he saw were someone's feet.

"Glad to see you're amongst the living again."

Demyx turned his head to look up and saw that the soft thing his head was on was the lap of the same girl from earlier. "Who're you?" he asked, feeling a tad confused. He vaguely remembered her asking him if he was alright, but not much afterwards.

What had happened?

The girl smiled a little. "My name's Renee," she said. "Do you remember what happened?"

"…I think I had a seizure," Demyx answered after a minute, remembering the detached feeling he had felt earlier.

"That's right," she said. She moved the cold thing off his forehead to reveal an IC-E PACK. "I had this in my lunch in case you were wondering what felt so cold."

Demyx just looked at her for a moment before trying to sit up. He felt a little wobbly and achy, but his tongue was bothering him most of all…and the huge headache that seemed to be forming.

"Hey, take it easy, you just had a seizure," the girl said. "You need to rest."

"I can do that at my hotel," Demyx replied tiredly.

Renee shook her head. "Maybe so, but you still need someone to stay with you in case you have another one," she said.

Demyx thought for a moment for some excuse, but gave up, feeling too tired to come up

with anything. "Fine," he answered. "But how do you know so much about them?"

The girl stood up and helped Demyx up on his feet, steadying him. "I have Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy," she said. "Where's your hotel?"

Another person having seizures? Though logically speaking Demyx knew there were other epileptics, he had never met another person that actually had them. "Uh, it's a Resident Inn a few blocks from here," he said tiredly. "I was gonna check in 'fore-"

He stumbled, almost taking the girl down with him. "Just take it slow," Renee said.

The next half hour was a blur to Demyx. One minute, she was leading him to the hotel, the next he was checked into his room, and then he was suddenly lying down on a bed, the girl tugging at his boots. He was about to protest when she said, "It's not good to go to bed with shoes on your feet." So he gave up, resting his head on the pillow, eyes closing as he felt blankets being pulled up to his shoulders.

The Melodious Nocturne woke up some time later, the headache still there, but not pounding at his head like it had been earlier. Demyx opened his eyes, seeing a wall straight in front of him. But looking lower, he saw the same girl from earlier sitting on the floor, drawing away in a sketchbook. _She kind of looks like Naminé,_ he thought as he watched her draw. Though the girl was older, she had the same blonde color for hair and bright blue eyes. She was dressed in an old pair of jeans (he guessed since there were a few rips and holes in them) and a black and white t-shirt that said:

**Romeo & Juliet  
****Spring '07  
****Akan Theatre **

He didn't know how much time had passed when she noticed that he was awake. "Hey, feeling any better?" she asked, putting her sketchpad and pencil on the floor next to her. Demyx sat up a little and nodded.

"Want some Advil or something?"

Demyx nodded again. She got up from her seat on the floor and went into the bathroom, he assumed to get one of those glasses that hotels kept in there. He was sitting against the headboard of the bed when she came back in with the small glass of water and two pills. "I hope this helps," she said, handing said items to him.

"Thanks." Demyx took the pills from her, along with the water. After downing the medicine, he put the glass on the nightstand and relaxed against the bed, looking at her. "What was your name again?" he asked. "My brain feels scrambled."

"I know the feeling," the girl said with some humor in her voice. She sat down on the bed facing him. "Name's Renee. I was in that park we were both at to sketch. When I noticed you though, I put my stuff together and asked if you were okay, and you…well, had a seizure. You were out for almost a half hour before you woke up." Then the humor was gone. "But…you scared me. I checked your pulse…but you don't have one, despite the fact that you're clearly alive."

The Nocturne's eyes widened. "You didn't…do anything, did you?" he asked.

Renee shook her head. "Nah," she answered. "Didn't see any reason to call for someone when I could see that you were clearly alive, despite no pulse. So what are you?"

"…you wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

"Try me."

Demyx noted the serious look on her face. She wasn't about to give up on finding out what he was. "It's…kinda hard to explain," he said. "And a long story."

She gave him a speculating look. "Well, if it's like that, then I guess you don't have to tell me," she said after a minute. "But how'd you get epilepsy? Or was it a 'just smacked me in the face' kinda thing?"

"…I'm not sure I follow that analogy," Demyx said after a minute.

Renee literally did a face-palm. "Sorry, I forget that not everyone follows my thinking," she said, laughing a little. She looked at him and smiled. "See, I've had mine for ten years or so, but my neurologist couldn't, and still can't, come up with a reason as to _why _I have it. It was a strange process of elimination too."

"...What do you mean by that?"

* * *

The next time Axel woke up, it was because he felt something licking his hair. He groaned, knowing that it was probably Consolation; though the cat liked to lick Demyx's hair (and the water user said it was a good way to unwind), Axel never really understood the need for Connie to lick a person's _hair _of all things.

_Oh well. Could be worse I guess_, Axel thought, opening his eyes. _Someone could be hovering over me, just waiting to scare the shi-_

"Glad to see you finally woke up mate."

Axel nearly choked when he heard Luxord's voice. "What the Hell are you doing, trying to scare me to death?" Axel asked, his voice not sounding nearly as angry as he was trying to get across since it was raspy-sounding.

Luxord sat on the bed, facing the sick Nobody. "Just thought I'd bring dinner," he explained, motioning to the tray on Axel's nightstand. "Didn't mean to scare you."

Axel looked to his nightstand to see a bowl covered in foil, Connie hopping away from her spot to somewhere on the floor. "It seems that Demyx left you something before he went on his mission," Luxord said, the red head sitting up. From his spot, Axel could see his name on a piece of paper that had been taped to the foil.

Taking the bowl off the tray, Axel took off the foil and couldn't help smiling.

"What is that?" Luxord asked, eyeing the contents of the bowl.

"Demyx calls it khichdi," Axel answered, picking up the spoon on the tray. "Says it's an Indian comfort food that his grandma used to make him."

And the red head had to admit, whoever Demyx's grandma had been was right about that. The last time he could remember eating the dish was when he was sobering up and Demyx had made the food for him; despite the fact that he hadn't really felt hungry and was feeling a little sick at the time, he had still appreciated the thought that Demyx had put into cooking.

"Heard anything from Roxas or Demyx?" Axel asked.

Luxord shook his head. "No, but that doesn't mean anything," he said. "Xaldin probably won't report anything until the third day and we probably won't hear from Demyx until the mission is over. Unless Zexion changes his mind when he joins him anyway." The Gambler stood up. "Sorry I can't stick around mate, but I have to go see what Xemnas wants with me and a few of the other remaining members."

"Is there a meeting going on?" Axel asked, taking another bite of the Indian dish in front of him.

"Not really a meeting per say, more like trying to find out who can still go to Atlantica without problems," Luxord answered. "Since Saïx told the Superior about his experiment, he became interested, so Xemnas is trying to see who among the ranks can still go to an underwater world, besides myself, Larxene, Xigbar, and Demyx."

"Sounds like oh-so-much fun," Axel said, a hint of raspy laughter in his voice. "Any results so far?"

"No, but the only ones who have gone so far are Larxene and Xigbar," Luxord said. "I'm going next with Zexion." He turned and opened a corridor. "You still look off color, but at least you look better than when you came through the portal the other day."

Axel looked at him funny, not really sure what that meant. "Uhm…thanks, I guess," he finally said. Luxord looked back at the red head, smiling before he turned and left through the corridor, leaving a somewhat confused Axel behind with his meal.

* * *

Ok, so Renee does return again. I know I keep saying it, but she's not going to be showing up anymore after the next chapter. The only reason I brought her back was because I wanted the details of Demyx's mission-botched-by-a-seizure in here.

And I hope the switching back and forth wasn't too big a deal. Since this story is supposed to focus on Axel's period of illness, I had to have the two Nobodies instead of just one. Maybe Roxas will make a cameo before he comes back from his week long mission...


	5. Demyx on Tour, Axel's Gettin' Sicker

S'been awhile hasn't it? Well, between school and writing two fics for Valentine's, I haven't had much time for anything else. That and I got stuck somehwere in this chapter, so I had to keep putting off the typing up of certain parts. But it's here now, so enjoy!

* * *

Axel groaned and opened his eyes. Solace was still curled up asleep in his usual place; next to Axel's pillow. Thinking that it was a little strange that his cat was still asleep (for some reason, the tabby was usually wide awake before Axel) the red head looked at the clock on the bedside table.

7:15 AM

Feeling a bit sluggish (not only because of the fact that he was sick,) Axel pulled himself up and into a sitting position, getting ready to get out of bed. He hadn't thought about bringing his glucose monitor into his room for some reason, so he had been going to the bathroom like he usually did to check it.

But before he could get out of bed, he heard movement from the direction of the bathroom he and Demyx shared. Confused, Axel was about to call out and maybe see if Demyx had had to come back for some reason when a coughing fit started.

"Geez, you sound worse than you did when Demyx flushed you out."

Axel managed to get his coughing under control when he heard _that _voice. Looking in the direction of the bathroom door, he saw Larxene standing there on the threshold, his glucose monitor in her hand. "What're you doing here?" he asked, voice sounding weaker than it had in last twenty-four hours.

Larxene shrugged. "Woke up early, so I made breakfast and came here," she answered. "Since you're awake, don't you need this?" She held up the monitor in her hand.

"Uh, yeah, I was just about to go do that," Axel confessed. But before he could get out of bed, the Savage Nymph was sitting on the bed, facing him, and picking up his hand. It was then that the red head noticed a sterile lancet in one of her hands, bringing it over his index finger. "Uhm, Larx? What are ya doing?"

His question was quickly answered when he felt the prick of the needle. Axel winced, despite having to do this same thing everyday; it was just something that he had never really gotten used to. He watched as the Savage Nymph put the drop of blood that came forth onto a sterile strip and into the meter.

"Why are you testing my sugar Larx?" Axel asked.

She didn't answer until the monitor beeped several seconds later. "Because it seems like you're an idiot who hasn't been doing so," she answered, picking up the monitor and the now non-sterile lancet. "It's down to the forties. Might wanna change that."

No wonder Axel was feeling the way he was. "…Could you get me some candy?" he asked, not intending for his voice to sound as weak as it did.

Larxene stood up from the bed, putting the monitor on his nightstand, taking the lancet and strip she had just used. "Get your own damn candy. You know where it is." With that, she started to head back to the bathroom to throw away the items in her hand.

"Aw c'mon Larx, I'm si-" Axel started, but was once again interrupted by a fit of coughing. This was starting to get old to the red head, but there wasn't anything he could really do, since the fits just came and went as they pleased. By the time it was over, his throat and chest _really _hurt, making it hard to catch his breath because of that pain. He sat back against the headboard of his bed, still trying to catch his breath when he felt something fall onto his lap.

It was half a candy bar.

Looking up, Larxene was standing next to the bed with a plate in hand. "Like I said, you sound worse than when Demyx flushed you out the other day," she said, putting the plate down on Axel's nightstand, revealing that she had made scrambled eggs and a piece of toast. "Make fun of my cooking and I swear that you'll die a very slow, lightning filled death."

Axel couldn't help but smile. "Wouldn't dream of it," he said. "Especially after the soup the other night. That was good stuff."

Larxene just turned around, opening up a corridor. "Just don't die on us, okay?"

With that, she walked through the portal, the corridor disappearing after she went through.

* * *

"Oh gods. I think this is the best Mexican food I've ever had."

Renee smiled. "This is one of the better places in San Antonio, if not Texas," she told the musician sitting across from her. "But there's other neat stuff around here besides the food."

After an evening of talking, Demyx had remembered that he had a mission to do, despite the fact that he had a seizure while on it. And since Zexion was going to come the next day, the water user figured he could just tough out one day…despite the fact that Vexen and Axel would probably kill him after finding out that he had had a seizure while on a mission and didn't tell anyone until much later.

So before his new friend left the hotel, Demyx had asked Renee if she could show him around the city. Smiling, she had nodded and agreed to take him to a few great spots in the city.

"I think you'll like the Alamo," she said, Demyx continuing to eat the enchiladas in front of him. "It's got a lot of history if you're into that sort of thing. What do you know of it?"

"Not a whole heck of a lot," Demyx said. "I…wasn't in school long, so I didn't get to learn much about the history of the south." At least, that was _partially _true. He had left when he was 11, so technically speaking, he hadn't made it past the fifth grade. And history that wasn't local wasn't discussed (at least, where his Other had been from) until fourth or fifth grade and beyond.

Renee frowned, genuine sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't-"

"-you didn't know," Demyx cut off. "It's okay. It's not something I advertise really." He smiled at her a little, to try and cheer her up. "If it makes you feel any better, I did get a G.E.D., though I'm not real sure what to do with it."

"Prove to people you're not stupid?"

"Exactly," Demyx said, smiling.

Renee laughed at that.

The Nocturne took another bite of his enchiladas. "Are you thinking of getting any souvenirs for anyone?" Renee asked him as he chewed.

Demyx nodded. "My friend Axel is sick, so I thought I'd take him something back," he said. "He was actually supposed to come with me, but he couldn't because he got pneumonia."

"Wow. That sucks," Renee said sympathetically. "Well, I'm sure you'll find something at one of the many places we'll visit today. What have you seen already?"

Demyx thought for a moment. "Yesterday I walked along some of the Riverwalk," he started. "But I didn't know how far it went, so when I got to the mall, I kinda left from there. Then I went to the park, but you already know what happened."

Renee smiled. "Then you're getting a crash course."

* * *

Axel wasn't feeling much better.

He'd eaten the breakfast Larxene had left, taken the medicine that Vexen had given him to take until he got better, watched a movie, and had tried to play a bit of Halo. He wasn't sure what to do now; Axel supposed that he could go find some lunch, but he wasn't that hungry.

So instead of just sitting around, the red head sat up in bed, attempting to get out. He touched his feet to the warm red carpet on the floor, then noticed Solace looking up at him. "What?"

The tabby just looked up at him curiously. "I fed you and Connie not that long ago, so don't give me that look." Axel attempted to stand up and succeeded, grabbing one of the spare blankets from the bed and wrapping it around himself before creating a portal to go to the kitchen. As soon as he stepped into said room however, he was saw Lexaeus, who appeared to be making lunch for himself. The Silent Hero was at the counter and had his back to him though, so he did not notice when Axel came in.

After a moment, he turned to see the red head, noticing when the temperature had gone up in the room suddenly. "Eight? What are you doing here?" the Silent Hero asked.

"I need to eat lunch or Vexen'll complain about how I'm not taking being a sick diabetic seriously," Axel wheezed. Since he hadn't talked to anyone besides Larxene that morning and Solace a few minutes ago, it was a bit easier to talk. "I'm not all that hungry, but I have to keep my sugar up."

He was about to go to the fridge when Lexaeus went over to one of the chairs at the table the Organization shared and pulled Axel's out. "Sit," he commanded.

Not about to disobey an order from a superior that he actually liked (and was much bigger than him,) Axel started to walk over-

-he sneezed-

-and his blanket spontaneously combusted.

Axel just sighed. That had been one of his favorite blankets. And now he was standing in the middle of the kitchen in nothing but a pair of pajama pants, freezing despite the actual temperature of the room.

"Damn it." The flames dissipated as Axel willed them away, leaving tiny scraps of his blanket on the floor as he went to sit in the pulled out seat. "Guess I'll clean that up before I leave." Settling himself into the chair Lexaeus had pulled out for him, he sighed tiredly. _I dunno if I've even got it in me to make something, no matter how quick it is,_ Axel thought, laying his arms on the table, head using them as a pillow. He was beginning to drift off to sleep when he felt something being put over his shoulders. Looking up, he saw that Lexaeus had put another blanket over Axel to replace the last one.

"Lex?" The Silent Hero gave the Flurry of Dancing Flames a rare smile and went back to whatever he had previously been doing before Axel had shown himself the kitchen.

The red head wrapped the given blanket around himself, noticing that it felt a little different; the blanket itself didn't look different than any other normal one, but this one had a bit of a different…texture to it. Or something. Axel couldn't place it though.

Lexaeus suddenly reappeared, putting a bowl of soup on the table in front of Axel. "It'll make you feel better," the larger one simply said.

Axel smiled. "Hey Lex? What's special about this blanket? It feels different but I can't place what kind it is."

"Fireproof."

The red head looked stunned, then grinned. "Didn't know you kept those in your collection," he said. Looking at the bowl in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a little better. "Thanks Lex."

The Silent Hero just smiled and went back to whatever he had been previously doing.

* * *

"Axel's gonna love this."

Renee looked up from a shelf full of souvenirs to see Demyx with a Lone Star flag in his hands. "Why a flag?" she asked curiously.

"I dunno, just seems like something he'd like," Demyx explained. "He likes to decorate his room with all sorts of stuff. I dunno what Roxas would want though."

Renee just studied the male in front of her. "What's up?" asked the Nocturne, flag lowering a little.

"This might sound weird, but…you remind me of someone I once met."

The Melodious Nocturne looked at her strangely. "What do you mean?"

"One summer a couple of years ago, I went on vacation to the west coast," Renee started, once again looking over some souvenirs next to her. "I was walking through the local park with my sketch pad and pencil case when I met a kid there who looked like he was maybe fourteen. I drew his picture and showed it to him…I even went to the park the next day, hoping he'd be there, but he didn't show up again."

Demyx felt something…strange. This sounded familiar for some reason, but he couldn't place why. "You never saw him again?" he asked, folding up the flag in his hands.

"No. But I try to hope that wherever he is, he's doing well." The blonde female picked up a small stuffed armadillo that had a tiny bandanna tied around its neck, then turned back to Demyx. "Think your other friend would like this?"

The Nocturne smiled. "Actually, he might. If not, he'll probably just let either Connie or Sol have it."

"Who?"

* * *

The Flurry of Dancing Flames fell back on his bed, chest feeling like it was on fire as he gasped for air, exhausted from the last coughing fit.

He had been sitting up in bed, about to go check his blood sugar before dinner when the bout of coughing hit. Axel was actually beginning to think that he was getting better because he had had only two outbursts today, and that was when Larxene had decided to visit that morning…but then this one hit and made him feel worse than he had since Roxas had left for his mission in Nolas.

The red head just lay there, closing his eyes while trying to catch his breath. He had wanted to try and show up for dinner tonight, but it didn't look like that was happening-

"Doesn't look like your health is improving very much Eight."

Axel cracked open an emerald eye to see Zexion looking down at him. "Have you been taking the medicine that Vexen prescribed you?" The red head just nodded, both eyes now open, his breath finally regulating itself.

Zexion just looked at him skeptically, then shrugged. He'd always been good at reading people, despite the lack of heart. It seemed that his decision on Axel's answer meant that the Schemer either didn't believe him or did but just thought he had caught him at a bad time.

"Since it seems that you won't be coming down for dinner again, any preferences to what you would like?" Zexion asked. Axel shook his head. "Not hungry," the red head managed to croak.

The Cloaked Schemer snorted. "Perhaps so, but Vexen will-"

"-get on your ass if you don't make sure I eat?"

"…in a way of saying."

The red head huffed. "Alright, if I gotta. But…not much, 'k? I feel like I'm gonna barf."

Axel could've sworn he saw a look of concern flash across Zexion's face for a brief moment, but maybe that was just his fever making him hallucinate. "Eight, is there anything you are not telling me?" Zexion asked.

When Axel just shook his head, the Schemer sighed. "Alright, I'll bring you something soon." He stopped when he saw Solace jump up onto the bed and snuggle next to his owner, causing a small grin to emit from Zexion. "And I'm sure that this creature will make sure you don't do anything foolish while I'm gone."

The red head just sighed and closed his eyes, Solace rubbing against his face in comfort as Zexion left the room.

* * *

"Today's been great…I just wish I could stay longer and get to know the city better."

Renee looked up at Demyx as the two were standing by the Riverwalk, watching the boats go by. "Was this a business trip?" she asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Demyx answered. He wasn't about to tell her the truth about the Heartless recon mission. "A partner of mine is supposed to join me tonight, but because this seizure happened, I can't stay for the duration. I gotta go back and talk to my doctor."

Which wasn't a complete lie. Now that he had had a seizure while on a mission, Demyx was gonna have to go back and report it to Vexen, perhaps figuring out why it had occurred in the first place. The only question would be what the excuse would be for not going back to the castle sooner and not telling them about Renee…well, technically there was also explaining everything to Zexion, but that was a different matter.

Renee smiled. "Well then Demyx, it's been a pleasure to act as your tour guide around the city," she said. "I hope you'll get to come back someday."

Demyx smiled a little. Though he knew that he probably wouldn't, he didn't want to make her feel bad. "I hope so too."

* * *

Axel woke up from the light sleep he had been in when he heard the bathroom door open. In the doorway stood Demyx, looking a little tired, but uninjured.

So why was he back?

"What are you doing back from your mission so early?"

Demyx just gave Axel a smile, since he had portaled into the bathroom instead of his own room. And he hadn't meant to wake his friend up, but Demyx had just wanted to check on the sick red head. It seemed not much had changed though since Axel's room was still hotter than usual, Axel was curled up under the covers in bed, and Sol and Connie were play-fighting on the floor.

"Some…stuff happened," the Nocturne answered. "I had a seizure my first day there."

Axel's eyes widened and he sat up from his lying down position on the bed. "What happened?" he asked, meaning did Demyx know why it had happened.

The Melodious Nocturne shrugged, coming over and sitting on Axel's bed, facing him. "Not sure really," he said. "I was in a park and had one. It was hot, but I don't think it was hot enough to overheat me, even with my robe on."

"Then why'd you wait a whole day to come home?"

Demyx laughed nervously, not wanting to give his real reason.

The real reason was he figured that he could get a little of his and Zexion's recon mission done before Zexion got there last night (technically, it was still night since it was about three or four in the morning) while he had been on the 'tour' with Renee. When Demyx had explained the whole 'having a seizure' thing to Zexion, he was immediately given orders from The Cloaked Schemer to go back to the castle and get Saïx instead to replace the Nocturne for the duration of the mission.

"I just…spent the day wandering around," Demyx said. "I think you'd like it in San Antonio. Oh! I got this for you by the way." He reached into a bag that he had put on the floor and pulled out a rolled up Lone Star flag. "I figured you'd wanna put this somewhere."

Axel took the flag from his friend. "Thanks Dem," he said, looking the flag over. Then he looked back up at Demyx in the eye. "So what happens now that you've had another seizure?"

Demyx shrugged. "Vexen'll figure that out. But I have a feeling that I'm not gonna be on missions or on light duty for awhile."

* * *

...I just realized that I was originally gonna have Roxas cameo in this chapter before he came home from his mission, but then I realized that I had no idea how to do it. Sorry! Anyway, that's the last of Renee. Hope you guys enjoyed her while she lasted


	6. Reunited, in a Manner of Speaking

ZOMG. That's all I'm saying

* * *

Demyx awoke to the sound of coughing coming from Axel's room. He got out of bed and went into the red head's room, finding his friend laying on his side on the bed, knees nearly touching his forehead as he kept coughing deep, painful coughs. Sol was sitting in the spot right next to Axel's pillow, looking up at Demyx as if to say_ isn't there anything you can do to help him?_

So the water-user sat on the bed next to his sick friend and began to rub his back. It hurt Demyx to see Axel like this and it only seemed like he was getting worse since he had switched with Saïx and came back two days ago from San Antonio.

Axel opened his eyes when he realized that someone else was in the room trying to comfort him. He looked up at Demyx as the coughing fit died down, trying to take a few breaths but failing since breathing was hard to do. "Sorry if…I woke you…up," Axel managed to get out. He relaxed a little when Demyx brought the hand that had been rubbing his back to his hair and began to stroke it. It was a comforting bit of body language to the Melodious Nocturne, so he didn't think that the red head would mind.

"It's alright," Demyx said softly, continuing to pet Axel's hair as the older male kept trying to regulate his own breathing. "You've been taking the medicine Vexen gave you haven't you?"

A nod.

"But you don't feel any better?" A shake of the head before a few coughs escaped.

"Then maybe you should go see him again," Demyx said. "It seems like you've only gotten worse the last few days-"

"Not now," Axel said quickly. "In…the morning. It's the middle…of the night. Don't wanna wake…frigid bastard unless it's…an emergency…"

Demyx sighed, listening to his friend fight for air. Axel could be really stubborn about many things, including illness. And it seemed that now he really wanted to be an idiot. So the water elementalist looked at the digital clock on the nightstand.

3:48 A.M.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to Demyx. He looked back down at the sick red head. "How about if I play for you?" he asked. "Would that help you get back to sleep?"

"…I dunno. Maybe."

So Demyx stopped stroking Axel's hair and sat on the floor cross-legged. He summoned his sitar and began to play, despite the fact that he didn't have his mezrabs on his fingers. After a few moments, he began to sing softly.

_**I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping,  
While my guitar gently weeps,  
I look at the floor and I see it need sweeping,  
Still my guitar gently weeps…**_

Axel watched as Demyx gave his mini-concert. "George Harrison?" he asked, his voice coming out in a raspy tone. Demyx only nodded as he continued to play.

By the time the song was over, Axel had fallen back asleep.

Demyx smiled and vanished his sitar. _Sleep well Axel,_ he thought, not getting off the floor just yet as Sol curled up in a ball next to Axel's pillow and fell asleep.

But after watching his friend sleep for a few minutes, the Nocturne frowned. He didn't know why Axel was getting worse; with the medicine that Vexen had given him, he should've been getting better, even if it took awhile, but it seemed that the red head's health was declining.

Demyx was snapped from his thoughts when he started to hear Axel wheeze a bit. The water-user sighed. _Maybe I should stay in here tonight,_ he thought. _Ax might get worse and if I'm not in here…_

He shuddered at that thought. Demyx had been sick enough times to know what could happen if left unattended. And since Axel had been having problems breathing and coughing so much…

Getting up, Demyx went to Axel's closet and pulled out an extra pillow and blanket. Even if Axel's room was pretty warm, a thin blanket wasn't gonna hurt. As he laid down on the floor next to the bed, Demyx prayed to whoever it was that watched over Nobodies that nothing else would happen.

* * *

Things got worse.

Demyx woke up to Axel's coughing again, but this sounded a lot worse than earlier. Like his body was trying to rid itself of lungs…it was a lot deeper than any fits that Demyx had heard previously, as well as the fact that it seemed like the Flurry _couldn't _stop.

The Melodious Nocturne quickly got up and flicked on Axel's lights. He _was _aware that he had barely gotten an hour of sleep since he had played his sitar so his friend would go back to sleep, but that wasn't what was foremost in his head. Demyx took a look at Axel, but other than seeing the shaking from his coughing fit, he couldn't really tell what else was wrong with the red head off-hand. So he walked around the bed and sat down next to Axel, who had his mouth covered with one of his hands and eyes tightly shut, beginning to rub his friend's back like he had during previous outbreaks in an attempt to help ease the pain.

When Axel's eyes opened and his hand came away when the fit ended however, there was blood on his hand.

Eight and Nine stared at the blood in horror as Axel's breathing became labored. "Demyx…wha' the Hell…is this?"

Demyx sat his friend up, trying to get him off the bed. "I dunno, but we're going to Vexen NOW," he said, slinging one of Axel's arms over his shoulders. _Damn, his temperature's gone up again_, Demyx thought, feeling the heat radiate off of his sick friend._ How much higher can it get?_

"Dem…can't br…breathe…"

This made Demyx act quicker. Opening up a portal, he managed to get himself and Axel through it to the hospital wing, Demyx slamming his fist down on the emergency buzzer that would summon Vexen, praying that the Chilly Academic would appear soon.

And that he did. Despite it being almost five in the morning, Vexen appeared at the desk as if he was already up, or had not gone to bed. Didn't mean that he still didn't have a right to be pissed off, since the look on his face practically screamed 'GET OUT'.

"Please, help him!" Demyx exclaimed, adjusting Axel's arm over his shoulder, the red head's breathing still ragged. "He started coughing up blood, he can't breathe-"

He was cut off when he heard the click of the button that was underneath the desk that would summon Zexion and Fori. A minute later, the two showed up.

The Schemer was the first to come up to Axel. "You need to calm down Eight," he said. "If you keep that up, you _will _hyperventilate." The red head coughed once. "Can't…help it," he managed to get out. "C…can't…br-breathe…"

And with that, the Flurry of Dancing Flames passed out. Demyx would've dropped his taller friend if Fori had not helped catch the red head. "Looks like he's not getting enough air to the bloodstream," Fifteen said quietly. Hauling Axel's other arm over his shoulders, he started leading the Nocturne and unconscious Flurry towards a treatment room, Zexion behind them, Vexen going way in front of them.

* * *

Demyx sighed and tried to wait patiently as Zexion, Vexen, and Fori worked on Axel.

He wasn't sure how long he had been waiting outside of the treatment area that his friend was currently in. He just knew that he was tired and it was getting closer to breakfast, if it hadn't already passed-

"Demyx? What are you doing here this early?"

The Nocturne looked up to see Luxord standing there. "Axel…wasn't doing so good when I brought him here," he answered. "He couldn't breathe, coughed up blood, and I'm sure his chest was hurting him."

The Gambler of Fate sat next to the musician and sighed. "All this over some bloody mission," he muttered. "Wish I had had a chance to say no to him going."

"But you don't outrank him, so what good would it have done?" asked Demyx. "He's a stubborn jackass most of the time, so he probably would've gone anyway, rank or not."

Luxord sighed, looking at the exhausted, younger male. "Shouldn't you try to get some rest?" he asked. "I heard that you had a fit on your last mission. It wouldn't do you any good to stay awake for however long it takes to work on Axel."

Demyx eyed the older gambler. "Where'd you hear that from?"

"Xigbar."

"Ah. Well, I probably should, because I know Axel would kill me if he found out that I was waiting like this," the Nocturne said. "But…Roxas isn't here and won't be back until later today, if not late tonight. If he was here, I would go back to my room and sleep since we usually do a shift of waiting…if that makes sense."

Luxord was quiet for a moment, studying the clearly exhausted musician. "I'll stay here then," he offered.

Demyx looked at him. "…what?"

"I'll stay here and keep watch," Luxord repeated. "And…maybe you should tell Xigbar about Axel. If he's gotten to this point, Xigbar will want to know so that he can keep you off light duty and Roxas off of anything."

"…thanks Luxord." With that, Demyx got up from his seat and took a portal in order to find Xigbar…

* * *

"Rossas? Whas wrong?"

The Key of Destiny looked at the Nightshade Stalker. "I…really don't know Xan," he said. "I've got this weird feeling that something's wrong back home."

Xaldin cleaned up the makeshift dishes from breakfast and snorted. "Doubtful," he said. "Unless Vexen or Xigbar have finally flipped their lids or Lexaeus started talking, I doubt anything eventful has happened."

"What's this about me 'flipping a lid'?"

The three looked up to see Xigbar standing a few feet away. "What are you doing here?" asked Roxas, suddenly fearing for the worst.

The Freeshooter went over and took a seat. "Well, a lot has happened actually," he started. "Demyx had a seizure on a scouting mission a few days back. The question is, who was with him since he was alone at that point in the mission."

Roxas' eyes widened. "Demyx had a seizure while _alone_? Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Xigbar answered, waving his hand casually. "Even brought souvenirs back for you and your fellow JD. Axel on the other hand…ain't doing so good."

"…what happened?" Roxas finally asked.

The Freeshooter sighed, rubbing at the scar on his face. "Demyx came to see me after breakfast, saying that Axel had started coughing really bad much earlier this morning…like, so bad that there was blood. He took 'em to the Iceman, who, from what Demyx told me, was still working on him with the little demon and our second-in-resident mute."

Roxas just stared at the older Nobody, thoughts of all kinds racing through his head. "Is Demyx still waiting in the hospital wing?" he asked.

Xigbar shook his head. "He went to lay down while Luxord stayed in his place," he said. "The kid needs it too, he's been running ragged the last few days."

The Key of Destiny jumped to his feet. "Xigbar, I gotta go back!" he exclaimed. "I know I'm on this mission, but please let me go back! It's the last day anyway!"

Xigbar smiled. "Why do you think I'm here? I'm taking your place."

* * *

"Demyx!"

The Melodious Nocturne looked up from his seat to see Roxas running down the hall of the medical wing. "Roxas? What are you doing here?"

The blonde teen quickly stopped in front of his friend and tried to catch his breath. "Xigbar's…taking my spot on the mission I was on…said I could come back." He sat down next to Demyx. "Where's Luxord?"

"I switched with him," Demyx answered. "I couldn't sleep or even relax. So I just came back down here." He went back to staring at the double doors in front of him. "I'm beginning to wonder if it's a good or bad thing that we haven't heard from the three of them about Axel."

Roxas looked at the doors as well. "How long have they been in there?" he asked.

"I brought Axel down here at close to five this morning," Demyx said. "And last I checked, it was a little after eight."

"…that can't be good Dem."

And silence took over, the two just waiting for someone to come out, didn't matter if it was Zex, Fori, or Vexen. Demyx and Roxas just wanted _some _kind of update about their friend.

…

"Nine! Thirteen!"

Zexion's voice was what woke the two up. When Demyx saw the Schemer in front of him, he immediately panicked. "What took so long? Is Axel okay? Where is he?"

Six just sighed as Fori came out of a portal and joined him. "Truthfully, Eight will be going through a long recovery process," Zexion finally said. "A complication arose known as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, or better known as ARDS. It seems that somewhere along the way, fluid was beginning to build up around the air sacs, thus making oxygen nearly impossible to get to the bloodstream."

Demyx and Roxas just stared at him. "So…what does that mean?" the younger Nobody asked. "What happens now?"

"He's on a ventilator," Fori answered. "He's out for the count right now and next to nothing is gonna wake him up for awhile."

"Why is he on a vent?" asked Demyx.

"Because Eight needed high levels of oxygen, and we're using positive end-expiratory pressure in order to do so," Zexion said. "But because of this fact, he'll need to be deeply sedated until we can take him off the ventilator." He paused. "And…I'm not going to lie about this...Eight...Axel began to fade."

The Nocturne and Key stared at him dumbly. Axel's condition was so serious that he had almost _faded_?

"Get those dumb-ass looks off your faces," Fori scowled. "He only started to because he wasn't getting enough air. The old fart was in the middle of putting a tube down his throat when his feet started to fade, but when Vexen finished, it stopped and Axel wasn't fading anymore."

That's when Roxas noticed something. "Where _is _Vexen anyway?" he asked.

"The old fart exhausted his power," Fori said. "He's probably dunking his head in an ice-cold lake in some frozen world by now."

Demyx scratched his head, concerned and a bit creeped out by this cryptic statement. "Axel's fever was that bad?"

Zexion nodded. "Vexen had to leave several times during treatment to try and balance out the heat and his ice element. Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to move Eight, Vexen had already exhausted his powers and left for the snow-covered mountains in the Land of Dragons. For now, Fifteen and I will be here until Vexen returns, which may not be for quite awhile."

Neither Demyx or Roxas knew what to say. It was _a lot _to take in at the moment. "…can we see him?" the Nocturne finally asked.

"I don't see why not," Zexion replied, beginning to lead the way to the room that Axel was being kept in. "But…be cautious. Prepare yourselves for what you will see. He's still in serious condition at this point."

Demyx and Roxas said nothing as they were led by Zexion and Fori to another room. Roxas was scared, but his fear was nothing compared to what Demyx had going through his head. After all, Roxas hadn't seen Axel coughing up blood earlier nor him having trouble breathing.

They finally reached the room in which their friend was being kept in. "This is one of our newer fireproof rooms that we're using," Zexion explained. "The equipment is also fireproof, in case anything were to spontaneously combust." A rare smile came to his face. "Lexaeus told me that Eight accidentally set his blanket on fire the other day when he sneezed in the kitchen. He…even brought down a few flame-retardant blankets while you two were sleeping so that Eight could 'have something warm without setting it on fire'."

Fori went and opened the door, a grim look on his face.

Thus Demyx and Roxas went in, the Nocturne trying not to cry when he saw his friend and the younger Nobody rushing over to the opposite side of the bed.

As Zexion and Fori had reported, the Flurry of Dancing Flames was now on a ventilator. It seemed that half the breathing was being done by the machine while the other half was done by their sick friend via a tube that protruded out of his mouth. A few different IV's were hooked up, providing fluids and the like to the sick being. Lexaeus' gift of fireproof blankets were covering the red head, the blankets being the only colorful thing in the room besides Axel's bright hair.

Demyx took a seat at Axel's side while Roxas went to the other, taking a careful hold of the red head's hand. "Kingdom Hearts Dem…I didn't think it was this bad…" Roxas said quietly, voice sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

* * *

*hides from angry reviewers* I love Axel! I just...had to beat him up a bit, y'know?


	7. Off Air

Sorry for the huge delay. End of semester stuff, my college play, and being sick all piled up on top of one another

* * *

Demyx sat next to Axel's bed, keeping watch for the third day in a row.

The only times he left were to get a quick bite to eat from the kitchen at mealtimes (if Roxas wasn't around to bring him food), to feed Connie and Sol at least once a day, or the one time he went to take a shower because Zexion complained of the smell he was apparently emitting (that no one else could pick up). He wasn't having a problem with getting medicine since Vexen was adjusting the levels again after the seizure in San Antonio, so he'd have to come here anyway to report to the Chilly Academic about tics or other such things that one had to worry about.

Nothing had really changed. Axel hadn't truly woken up in the time since he had been put on the vent, only opening his eyes for a few minutes and trying to look around before falling asleep again. Demyx could understand why though. Zexion had told him and Roxas that Axel had to be kept under deep sedation while on the vent and using…whatever the treatment was called. And Demyx was an expert with painkillers, despite the many times he had refused them, since other medicines he usually ended up taking made him too sleepy or feel really out of it when hurt or sick.

Both Vexen and Zexion had tried to explain to Demyx about what they were doing for this treatment, but it was Fori who finally explained it in plain English for Roxas and Demyx.

When the 'brain trust' had first treated Axel, the vent was set at nearly 100% oxygen levels because of the severity of the problem of the time. They were planning on lowering the level each day so they could watch Axel's progress with the ability to breathe. It was working so far, or so Demyx had been told by Fori whenever the demon Nobody came in to check Eight's blood sugar. Axel was breathing partially on his own now, and the drugs weren't as heavily administered this morning as they had been other days, but Demyx still worried because the drugs were keeping his friend in a coma-like state.

And though he'd never admit it, he was lonely…and a little worried for Roxas.

Shortly after the Keyblade wielder had returned, Xemnas had found out and had been furious until Xigbar had told him the current situation. He also had pointed out what Roxas had said, it had been the last day of the mission, so did it really matter who finished the last few hours?

So now the Superior had a few things that he had questioned part of the Organization about, including Demyx; they mainly consisted of why his main assassin was so critically ill and why no one had done anything to prevent him from starting to fade.

As for the Roxas situation, while the Superior couldn't lecture him about ditching his mission since it had been decided by the Freeshooter that Roxas could come back, he still tried to show his contempt about the situation by having the Key of Destiny doing menial labor in various parts of the castle starting the second morning Axel was in the medical wing and not stopping, even to eat, until long after dinner had passed. Earlier that morning, the leader of the Organization had assigned Roxas to yet another mission, but this one was to only take four days…the main issue Demyx had with that was that it was a Heartless killing mission and Rox was going solo.

So not only was Demyx worried about his older brother because he was so sick, but he also now had to worry about his younger one because the last time he had been sent alone on a mission like that, it had been when Axel was sobering up and Demyx was recovering from the horrific injuries he had been given and the mission had been botched.

"Mrow?"

Demyx was interrupted by his train of thought when he heard that little kitten voice. Looking down he saw Sol, which didn't really surprise him, but what did shock him was that his own cat Connie was right behind the tabby. "Okay, I know you can strangely get in an out of weird places Sol, but how'd you get Connie here too?" Demyx asked, not really expecting an answer.

And he didn't get one. Solace just jumped onto the bed Axel was on, going to the empty space next to the pillow and curling up in a ball next to it, much like he did when in Axel's own room. Connie, on the other hand, just mewed at Demyx, since she was still pretty small and had problems jumping up high. The Nocturne smiled at her, then picked her up and placed her on his lap. "You shouldn't follow Sol everywhere he goes y'know," Demyx said to her.

"Mew."

The musician scratched between her ears, the little Siamese purring. "Did you just wanna keep me company?"

"Mew." Connie stretched her dainty little paws to reach Demyx's collarbone and started licking his chin. The Nocturne laughed a little. "I know I've got some stubble, but you don't have to lick at it."

"Mew!" The Siamese protested, continuing to lick at the stubble from not shaving for the last few days. Demyx just smiled and let her continue to lick. It made him feel better, or at least it did a little bit. The last few days had been exhausting, lonely, and somewhat terrifying, despite the fact that Demyx was being reassured that Axel _was _getting better.

Suddenly, Solace got up from his spot next to Axel's pillow and climbed his way onto his master's chest, staring down at the unconscious red head. Connie hopped from her space on Demyx and onto the bed, sitting in Sol's former spot, beginning to nibble at Axel's hair.

"Hey you two, knock it off," Demyx said, standing up. He might have said something else when he recognized something about the way the two cats were acting; Axel had once complained that Sol liked to scare the shit out of him by sitting on his chest and staring down at him when he thought it was time to get up in the morning. And Connie had a habit of either licking someone awake or chewing on their hair until she thought they were awake.

Did they know something that he didn't?

And as if to answer his question, Axel's eyes began to flutter, as if on the verge of waking up. Demyx watched as the Flurry of Dancing Flames' eyes finally opened after a few moments, somewhat glazed-over jade eyes focusing on the first thing he saw, which happened to be the Melodious Nocturne. "Axel? Can you hear me in there?"

It took a minute, but the red head slowly nodded a little in response.

"Do you think you can sign any?"

Axel closed his eyes and tried to pick up his arms so he could try signing, but he hadn't gotten them an inch off the bed before he became too tired to try anymore. He let his arms fall back on the bed, opening his eyes, and looked back up at Demyx, puffs of steam coming from the corners of his eyes.

"It's okay," Demyx reassured the red head, petting his hair, Connie moving out of his way in order for her master to comfort his friend while Solace merely hopped off his own master's chest and onto the bed. "I didn't think you'd be able to. I just wanted to see if you could."

There was a look of confusion in Axel's eyes that Demyx could relate with very well. So he decided that answering questions that the red head might have would be a good start.

"Do you remember the other night when you woke up and coughed up blood?" A slow nod. "I brought you down to the medical wing and let Vexen, Zexion, and Fori work on you to see what was wrong. Zexion said that you had a complication from your pneumonia that's called ARDS…I don't remember part of what it's real title is, but basically fluid was building up in part of your lungs."

_Oh lovely_, was the look that Axel's face was giving off right now. Good thing Demyx wasn't about to tell him that the red head had also started to fade or who knew what would happen. "I know, gross right?" Demyx continued to pet Axel's hair, keeping in his friend's line of vision. "But it makes sense, considering how hard it was for you to breathe. They put you on a vent so you could breathe easier, and they've been saying that it's working so far; Vexen says he plans to get you off it by the end of the week…and it's the third day that you've been here."

He let Axel process this information for a few moments before explaining more. "The drugs that Zex and Vexen have had you on kept you asleep or somewhat paralyzed so the vent would do its work. I don't think they let Fori put in as much of that paralyzer today though."

Demyx sat down on the bed facing Axel, still stroking his friend's hair. "I bet you're wondering where Roxas is, aren't you?" A small nod. "He was here a couple of hours after I brought you down; Xigbar finished up the last day of his mission just so Roxas could be here. But Xemnas found out that Rox skipped out and was about to punish and lecture him severely when Xigbar explained the situation…but that still didn't stop Xemnas from making Rox do a lot of work around here or from leaving for a four day mission." Better to leave out the fact that their little brother was on said mission alone. "He's been here with me, but you've been really out of it, so you wouldn't have known anyway, even if he hadn't…do you have any questions?"

Axel thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. Demyx stopped petting the red head's hair and took a hold of his arms, holding them up a little. "If I hold up your arms, think you can sign?"

…**yeah, **Axel finally signed. The Melodious Nocturne smiled. "Ok, so what are the questions you still have?"

**Blood sugar?** The red head signed after his fingers fumbled for a minute.

_Why's he wanna know what his blood sugar is?_ Demyx thought. Then it clicked; Axel wasn't asking _what_ it was, rather_ who _had been checking it. "Oh, uh, Fori's been checking it every couple of hours. I offered, but he said no since Vexen's adjusting my Depakene levels."

**Taking care of yourself? **

"Of course I am," Demyx answered. "What makes you think I'm not?"

**Stubble,** Axel simply answered. Demyx felt his face heat up a little. When he was composing, he would go days without eating or drinking, a music-driven muse usually driving every basic instinct. Occasionally he had also been known to worry himself over someone in the same way, but not often. And since shaving hadn't been on the top of his priority list when it came to "taking care of himself", Demyx wouldn't have thought Axel would think something like that.

"Just because I haven't shaved in a couple of days doesn't mean I haven't been taking care of myself," Demyx pointed out. "I've been eating at mealtimes, sleeping when I get tired, and taking my medicine. Shaving just hasn't been at the top of my list of priorities."

Demyx could almost swear that he saw a hint of amusement in Axel's eyes as the red head studied the other; in a way, Demyx did look like he had just rolled out of bed, what with his messed up black jeans, hair that looked like it hadn't been styled in a few days, unshaven face, and rumpled up t-shirt that said 'You Spin Fire? How Special…'.

**When did you get that shirt?** Axel asked. Demyx smiled. "I actually found it on my last mission," he said. Placing his friend's arms back down, he sighed. "I think you need to get some more rest. This is the longest you've been awake in days, aware or not, and you still look exhausted."

He would've gotten up, if Axel had not placed his hand on Demyx's knee, though it took him a few moments to do so. "What is it?" the Nocturne asked.

Axel's eyes seemed to be pleading with a single word; _stay._

Demyx smiled. "I'm not going anywhere," he said. "I'll still be here when you next wake up."

* * *

Roxas sat on a log, bored and exhausted.

He _hated _this four day mission with a passion. Xemnas had sent him to some world called Zanabat, which while it was not a back in the boondocks kind of world, it wasn't really all that technologically advanced either. His orders were to kill any and all Heartless present in this world.

…only problem with that order was that Roxas hadn't seen a single Heartless anywhere. While it hadn't even been a day yet, it was coming to a close since the sun had set not long ago. And this world got _dark_.

_Why did the Superior feel the need to stick me in a place like this alone?_ Roxas thought, beginning to glow slightly so he could see himself opening up his backpack to pull out a small sleeping bag. _It's creepy out here at night. And one would think that he'd have not sent me on another one alone after nearly killing Demyx on that one mission I really botched._

Climbing into his sleeping bag, Roxas prayed that everything was alright back home as he fell asleep.

* * *

"Are you ready Eight? The tube will be removed in a moment."

Axel looked up at Vexen and nodded a little. He had been waiting for this moment for the last three days, since Demyx told him that Vexen was going to aim for taking him off the vent by the end of the week. And since the Nocturne was still off-duty, he was standing by Axel's other side, now clean-shaven with styled hair, at Axel's request that he spend some time outside the medical wing; Demyx was mainly there for moral support at this point in time, petting Axel's hair to keep him calm while Vexen worked.

For the last few days, the brain trust of the Organization had been weaning Axel off the ventilator so that he could breathe fully without it. After listening to the technical side of what was going to happen from Vexen, Fori repeated it in plain English so both Demyx and Axel actually knew what was going on.

The red head stared as Vexen did a few things in order to remove the tube he so desperately wanted out of his throat.

Then, the moment of truth.

Vexen placed his hands around the tube, ready to pull it out. "Take a deep breath and cough," the Academic instructed. Axel did so, and felt a weird sensation as the object that had been down his throat for the last week was pulled out. While it felt good to not have that down his trachea now, Axel couldn't help but break into a coughing fit as soon as it was gone.

A few seconds later, the red head felt an oxygen mask being put over his face, warm air being administered. His coughing stopped and he took a few deep breaths, something he hadn't been able to do in quite some time due to being sick.

"You did great Axel," Demyx said, smiling at him as he continued to stroke his friend's hair. "Let's just hope you can get out of here soon."

The red head gave a weak smile to the Nocturne, then noticed Zexion standing where Vexen had been a few moments ago. Axel turned to look at the slate-haired Nobody, a bit curious as to what he had to say. **What is it? **he signed.

"Despite the fact that you are off the ventilator and doing much better than you were a week ago, you will still have to stay for a few days," Zexion explained. When Axel rolled his eyes, Zexion huffed. "It's a precaution, due to the fact that you've been on breathing support for the last seven days. There's still a chance that there may be respiratory complications after being on a ventilator for this long, so you will be here a few more days for observation, as well as to make sure that your breathing won't be compromised. We will also be doing respiratory therapy until Vexen deems that you may be released."

Axel groaned at this. He just wanted to go back to his own bed and curl up under the covers, not minding if Sol joined him in his usual spots; next to his pillow or on his chest.

"Don't even try to gripe Ax," Demyx said, still petting his friend's hair, smiling. As Zexion and Vexen left the room, the Nocturne's face fell a little, the hand that was stroking Axel's hair slowing. "You really scared me last week. I honestly thought you were gonna fade."

**Why would you think that?** Axel asked. **Unless there's something you're not telling me…?**

Demyx sighed. He knew eventually he was gonna have to tell Axel about what Zexion had said that first night, especially if he had felt that weird fuzzy feeling in his feet like Demyx had when he had tried to hang himself so long ago. "Well…when Vexen and the others were working on you last week, Zexion said that your feet were starting to fade…I wasn't sure if you were aware of anything, so I didn't want to bring it up until later…"

Axel just stared at him, a surprised look on his face. **I started…to fade?** he finally asked.

* * *

Roxas walked through the main hall of the medical wing, feeling exhausted and beat up. The mission hadn't exactly been a cakewalk, what with the natives of the world he had visited not exactly liking humans. When he finally had seen the Heartless that were supposedly in Zanabat, they were only minor ones, which made Roxas happy since that meant that there wasn't a huge threat to the world at that moment and could be easily killed off.

So after reporting back in to Xemnas, as well as dropping off his mission account, Roxas decided to make a visit down to the hospital area of the castle to go see Axel. He hadn't seen him since the first night the red head had been in, despite bringing food to Demyx when he could; Vexen wouldn't allow anyone to eat in Axel's room, so every time the Nocturne needed to eat, he had gone out into the hall just outside of the room and eaten what Roxas would bring him. The teen was hoping that Axel hadn't gotten worse or that Demyx had taken care of himself in the last four days he had been gone.

"Mission over already Spikey?"

Roxas yanked himself out of his own thoughts to see Fori standing in the hallway, a medical textbook in hand. "Yeah, I just got back," he answered. "What's with the textbook?"

Fori shrugged. "Was bored, so I raided Zexion's collection of medical books," he said. "If you're here to see Axel, I'm sure he'll be ecstatic."

The Key of Destiny was confused. "Is he awake?"

"Has been for a couple of days. Just got off the vent this morning though," Fori said. "Go see him, I bet that Demyx and Axel will be glad to see you."

Roxas started to go in the direction of Axel's room when he noticed that Fori wasn't being as snarky as usual. "What's up with you today? You seem off."

The demon Nobody shrugged. "Mixture of being tired and other stuff," he said. "I figured I'd go read so that maybe I could sleep some, since I haven't really in the last few days. I just hope the old fart will let me stay in my room for a few hours."

"…thanks for taking care of Axel."

Fori just waved it off and continued down the hall to wherever he was going.

* * *

Demyx heard the door squeak open, but didn't turn to look who it was, figuring it was Vexen or Zexion since Fori had just left. He kept watch over Axel as the door closed, the red head never stirring from sleep, the oxygen mask hissing a little with each breath he took.

"You almost look like you haven't moved since I left."

The Nocturne looked behind him and saw Roxas, a grin on his face. "But I guess that's not the case is it? It looks like you've at least shaved."

Demyx smiled. "Welcome back. Did you just come in from…wherever you went?"

"Yeah. Let's just say I don't wanna go on another mission to Zanabat any time soon." Roxas made his way over to the side of the bed. "Fori told me he got off the vent this morning, so I'm gonna guess he's doing loads better. But has he been asleep this whole time?"

"Yeah, but he needs it," Demyx said, looking from Roxas to Axel. "The meds that kept him under didn't really let him sleep that well, if that makes much sense. He's been getting at least some real sleep since he was able to wake up the third day he was on the vent, but not nearly enough."

"That's good, I guess," Roxas said, coming over to the other side of the bed. "I was wondering if he'd be off it by the time I got back."

"Vexen did say that it would only be a week or so for the vent," Demyx pointed out. "But Zexion says he has to stay for a few days for observation and breathing treatments-"

A sleepy moan emitted from beneath the oxygen mask. Both blonde Nobodies looked down at the red head to see his eyes starting to flutter a little. After a few moments, Axel half-opened his eyes, smiling when he saw the other two. **Hey you guys,** he signed after raising his hands. **You okay Roxas? When did you get back?**

"I'm alright, just a couple of bruises," Roxas assured him, looking like he was about to cry. "And I just got back, like, literally just got back…last time I saw you, you were still in pretty bad shape…I'm glad you're okay now."

Axel grinned. **I'm okay as I will be for awhile, I guess,** he responded.


	8. Epilogue

"So how's it feel to be back in your own bed?"

Axel sighed happily, snuggling back under the covers. "You have no idea," he said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "I'm so glad that Vexen finally let me out, I was starting to go crazy."

"Now you know how I feel." Demyx grinned, glad that his friend could now speak without gasping for air. "So how much downtime do you get?"

"I dunno," Axel answered honestly. "Zexion says that I still have to take some medicine and go down to the hospital wing every couple of days, so I guess until that's over, I'm off duty."

Demyx sat on the bed facing Axel. "That's good. Wouldn't want you going out on a mission when you're still recovering."

Axel smiled, but then realized something. "Where's Roxas? I haven't seen him today."

"He had a training session with both Xaldin and Fori today," the Nocturne answered. "Last I saw, he was still asleep after getting fixed up. I'm going to go wake him up in a bit though so that he can eat. He already slept through the normal dinner hour."

"So he's getting Demyx cooking?" When the other nodded, Axel asked "Can you make khichdi?"

Demyx laughed a little. "Sure. I can do that." He ruffled Axel's hair. "You and Roxas are probably the only ones I ever get to cook for. If you're asking for something with how you've been, you must be at least feeling better."

"Loads better," Axel corrected. "But still not feeling up to vindaloo yet. Maybe in a couple of days or something." He yawned, snuggling more into the blankets and sheets of the bed. "Where's Sol? I haven't seen him since I got back earlier."Demyx shrugged. "Last I saw, he and Connie were play-fighting over a jingly bell ball."

The red head snorted. "Guess he got bored with me when he snuck into the hospital wing." Then a thought occurred to him. "Hey Demyx?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember how pissed Xemnas was when he found out that I almost drowned after Atlantica?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"I just realized that if I had gone to him in the first place, I wouldn't have been forced to go on that mission, gotten hypothermia, then pneumonia. I could've gone with you to San Antonio and never been stuck on a vent."

* * *

FINALLY!

I've had this tiny after thought for awhile, but couldn't think of what to add. Then I realized that it would be fine where it ended up at ^^;


End file.
